Thousands Still Without Power After Four Days of Outages

By Y.M. Lowy

Power outages stretched into the fourth day, following the heat wave that strained the city’s electrical grid and left thousands of New Yorkers in the dark.

The problems began Monday, when more than 12,000 customers lost power at once. Since one customer can represent an entire building, the true number of affected residents could be much higher than reported.

Tuesday brought record-breaking heat, with temperatures hitting 100 degrees, the hottest June day in the city since 1966. On Wednesday, more than 10,000 customers were still without power in the heat.

As of today, it’s reported that over 6,900 Con Edison customers were still without electricity.

While Con Edison crews are still working to restore service, the utility is placing much of the burden on residents, asking them to limit air conditioning, avoid using large appliances, and delay charging electric vehicles. For many still without power after days of sweltering heat, that message has sparked frustration and raised concerns about how the city’s aging infrastructure and power management systems are holding up under pressure.