Luckily, this doesn’t happen often, but if Missouri’s electric utilities are not able to modernize the infrastructure, those dreaded power outages will only become more frequent. The truth is the electricity that powers the modern world is delivered on an aging electrical grid that is in desperate need of upgrades.

Thankfully, our conservative leaders in Jefferson City have the foresight to recognize the threat and propose a reasonable solution before it turns into a major problem negatively affecting our daily lives.

The result is the Infrastructure Strengthening and Regulatory Streamlining legislation, which encourages private industry — not government — to invest in new and improved infrastructure and gives these utilities the ability to recoup their investments, just like any other business.

For instance, when you buy a gallon of milk, you’re not just paying for the milk itself; built into the price is the cost to bottle it, transport it, shelve it and market it, and you’re also paying for the wages of the people who stock it and ring you up.

But for the electric utilities, things are different. By law, they cannot immediately recover costs for improvements made to the system. Essentially, we expect power companies to continue delivering reliable electricity into our homes, but the government denies them a mechanism to pay for the upgrades that keep the electricity flowing.

Not only does the legislation being considered in Jefferson City correct this problem while continuing to protect consumers from unreasonable rate hikes; it would also spur an immediate investment of millions of dollars in new projects and upgrades and create tens of thousands of badly needed jobs across our state.

We must act now — before it’s too late.

Study after study has made it clear that our state’s electric infrastructure is in dire need of improvements. The status quo is not sustainable in the long term, and yet opponents of this legislation have no plan to deal with our aging power grid.  Instead, they’ve buried their heads in the sand, ignoring the warning signs and denying that a problem exists.

Their do-nothing strategy prevents the electric utilities from being able to make critical improvements.

Unfortunately, as we have repeatedly seen, every time something as important as the power grid fails, the government has no choice but to step in. It happened with the housing market; it happened with the financial system; and it is the only logical outcome if we continue down our current path.

Make no mistake: The opponents of this legislation are trading short-term ideological satisfaction for more government intervention and an inevitable taxpayer bailout in the long term.

For all of us who believe that the private sector is more efficient and more responsive than government, this is an unacceptable result.

Throughout my career of service to the state of Missouri, both as governor and as a U.S. senator, improving our infrastructure has been a priority. This investment has paid off, benefiting the families and communities who use the infrastructure but also attracting businesses, creating jobs and growing the economy. I commend the leaders in Jefferson City who recognize the importance of investing now in our state’s future. These leaders understand the risk of doing nothing and are fighting to prevent future government intervention by giving our utility companies the tools to do what they do best — provide reliable and affordable electricity for years to come. And I urge our legislators to support this much-needed legislation that will keep Missouri’s lights on.