This past weekend, as a dangerous heat wave continued to slam the east coast, thousands of New York City residents found themselves without power. Over 920 Con Edison customers reported being without power on Sunday night, as temperatures remained at dangerously high levels even after the sun set. According to a recent report, JCP&L admitted that over 2,000 of their customers were also without electricity.
The power outages were quickly attributed to the sweltering heat and humidity in the area, as most residents with air conditioning opted to stay indoors. At one point, primary electiricty feeders began to fail just from the sheer amount of demand in the area. Despite swift action fron Con Edison employees, by 4 a.m. on Monday morning, there were still hundreds of residents who were without power.
Public Health departments have released statements encouraging residents to take precautions in order to stay cool, acknowledging that these dangerously high temperatures will remain constant in the Tri-State area until Wednesday. As temperatures reached 100 degrees in some areas, a melted power line on Utica Avenue in East Flatbush came sizzling down to the ground, causing a serious scare for onlookers.
"I was opening the car door to take something out of the car and the wire just fell," said Christina Morrison of East Flatbush. "It just dropped — just like that."
In hopes of preventing more electricity blunders, energy companies are encouraging New York residents to do their best to conserve energy and visit cooling centers if they feel that the heat in their home is too extreme. To find the closest cooling center, please click here.
