Avoiding the next energy crisis By: Kathryn McNutt The Journal Record February 26, 2021 Energy experts discuss the road to the future in protecting the electrical system during Friday’s JR/Now webinar. (JR Screenshot) Oklahoma residents learned getting electricity into their homes isn’t as simple as flipping a light switch when the demand skyrocketed in mid-February amid serious supply issues. “For the first time the general public is beginning to realize through this storm the interdependency of our energy system,” Mark Yates, vice president of Advanced Power Alliance, said Friday. “This event has really elevated the grid, which is a very complicated system.”