'A perfect storm:' Aging infrastructure may have impacted Duke Energy's rolling blackouts

The number of power outages across the country has doubled in the past decade, according to an analysis from Reuters.

The average duration of those outages also risen.

As the nation's power grid infrastructure gets older, it costs more to repair and replace -- and potentially leads to dangerous situations like the rolling blackouts experienced by Duke Energy on Christmas weekend.

Did the country's aging power grid lead to the failure of generators this past weekend?

Duke Energy acknowledges multiple generators failed, despite promise they were fully prepared for extreme cold

That's a key question for Duke Energy as the Utilities Commission, the governor, and customers seek answers.

"It was really a perfect storm, and we're going to have to learn from it," said Bill Norton, a spokesperson for Duke Energy.

Norton says they're investigating why some generating units failed, forcing the company to reduce demand with rolling blackouts.

Power grid expert: 'Clearly something wrong' with Duke need for rolling blackouts

"If that doesn't happen, you have a disastrous situation where the whole power grid goes down," explained Wayne Tung, a utility expert for Sendro Consulting.

Tung says consumers should expect to pay more to ensure excess capacity for emergency situations.

"Are you willing to pay twice what you pay today for electricity to ensure no outages?" Tung asks.

Norton says Duke Energy is still evaluating whether aging infrastructure played a role in the rolling outages over the weekend – and says the current investments Duke Energy had already made into infrastructure prevented the issues from being worse.

Entire NC towns without water for days after power outages, freezing weather

Aging electrical infrastructure isn't the only issue that failed North Carolina during the record low temperatures on Christmas weekend.

Like a domino effect, Spring Hope's wells and wastewater treatment plant tripped when the power went out – and did not restart.

Once the town fixed the outage issues, they faced underground leaks.

Both communities have been without water for several days.

"That’s a destiny every small town in America is facing with aging cast iron water infrastructures," wrote Spring Hope's mayor Kyle Pritchard.

He says the rolling outages caused power to the town's wells and wastewater treatment plant to trip – and not restart.