Hurricane Sandy exploited a key energy issue that has been overlooked for decades. The current Power Distribution method across most of the country relies on overhead power lines. This system, which has been in use since the 1830's, can be unreliable and dangerous. Most recently, Sandy caused many downed trees, which in turn downed many overhead power lines, which handcuffed the NY Metropolitan area for weeks. As more people plug into the overhead system, more and more people will be vulnerable to the systems' weaknesses. And as more people are connected, there will be longer outages, and more extensive damage.
The system is antiquated. New ways of power distribution need to be reviewed in order to prevent extensive outages in the future, and the chaos that was evident during Sandy.