Article

2003-08-14 Home Front

Major power outage in New York/New Jersey

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Posted by seafarious 2003-08-14 4:21:39 PM|| || Front Page|| [11130 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Beeb confirms.

CNN says Chicago, Detroit also.

Posted by liberalhawk 2003-8-14 4:33:42 PM|| 2003-8-14 4:33:42 PM|| Front Page Top

#2 Rochester, NY, also

Posted by Chuck 2003-8-14 4:36:36 PM|| [http://blog.simmins.org] 2003-8-14 4:36:36 PM|| Front Page Top

#3 WTF? Has there been news about electricity shortages? In such widely seperately areas could it be that something got overloaded and it tripped things "down the line"?

Great, I don't even know what I'm trying to ask.

Does/did anybody work in the industry that could post an idea on why power is out in these seperate cities like this?

Posted by Laurence of the Rats 2003-8-14 4:38:20 PM|| 2003-8-14 4:38:20 PM|| Front Page Top

#4 in great blackout of "65 thsts what happened. I thought the grid was supposed to be fixed so that it couldnt happen again. And i also thought '65 effect was over continuous areas, not spotty.

Posted by liberalhawk 2003-8-14 4:40:54 PM|| 2003-8-14 4:40:54 PM|| Front Page Top

#5 Sell Microsoft if you still have the power to do so?

Posted by True German Ally 2003-8-14 4:43:33 PM|| 2003-8-14 4:43:33 PM|| Front Page Top

#6 "(Reuters) - Power outages struck major U.S. and Canadian cities on Thursday, witnesses said, although it was not immediately clear if there was a link between the breakdowns.

Power outages were reported in the New York metropolitan area and Detroit, as well as in Toronto and Ottawa, witnesses said. "

Posted by liberalhawk 2003-8-14 4:44:53 PM|| 2003-8-14 4:44:53 PM|| Front Page Top

#7 TGA,

LOL, I thought of that too. Too bad the markets have just closed, I think. ;)

Posted by Laurence of the Rats 2003-8-14 4:46:42 PM|| 2003-8-14 4:46:42 PM|| Front Page Top

#8 If a Squirrel fell on some high tension lines, I don't want to see the size of it!
PS... I am close to Chicago and I'm obviously up.

Posted by Capsu78 2003-8-14 4:46:52 PM|| 2003-8-14 4:46:52 PM|| Front Page Top

#9 CNN says Boston too, but I'm sitting right downtown and everything appears to be fine. And I hope it stays that way cause it's a long walk down 15 flights.

Posted by tu3031 2003-8-14 4:48:54 PM|| 2003-8-14 4:48:54 PM|| Front Page Top

#10 OK, partial outages in Rochester, NY. Have power downtown, but the northern burbs are out.

Posted by Chuck 2003-8-14 4:50:59 PM|| [http://blog.simmins.org] 2003-8-14 4:50:59 PM|| Front Page Top

#11 heard a rumor that there's a fire in a Con Ed plant in NYC.

Posted by liberalhawk 2003-8-14 4:53:29 PM|| 2003-8-14 4:53:29 PM|| Front Page Top

#12 A New York state official said the outage came when the Niagara-Mohawk power grid failed (CNN).

Will be interesting to know why. And why this has such a big effect?

Posted by True German Ally 2003-8-14 4:55:44 PM|| 2003-8-14 4:55:44 PM|| Front Page Top

#13 that would make sense geographically. Maybe the other systems were net importers of power, and couldnt re-source fast enough? but that shouldnt be true for HydroQuebec which is a big power exporter. Engineers, anyone?

Posted by liberalhawk 2003-8-14 4:57:38 PM|| 2003-8-14 4:57:38 PM|| Front Page Top

#14 That Con-Ed thing is a transformer, according to CNN. Of course, reporters sometimes call bulldozers tanks, so lord knows what's really burning.

A Con Edison transformer on East 14th Street in Manhattan was afire, CNN learned.

I got that from this story.

Posted by Laurence of the Rats 2003-8-14 4:57:43 PM|| 2003-8-14 4:57:43 PM|| Front Page Top

#15 Con ed used to have a plant at East 14th st and the east river, of course they would likely have transformers there too. So was the Niagra Mohawk grid brought down by Con Ed? CNN also says officials report it is NOT, repeat NOT terrorism.

Posted by liberalhawk 2003-8-14 5:02:13 PM|| 2003-8-14 5:02:13 PM|| Front Page Top

#16 Hope nobody grabs the opportunity though. The vulnerability of this power system isn't very comforting.

Posted by True German Ally 2003-8-14 5:04:57 PM|| 2003-8-14 5:04:57 PM|| Front Page Top

#17 a poster on another board from Gatineau, Quebec, just across from Ottawa, indicates Ottawa is down, but Gatineau (and presumably Hull) is up. Yet reports indicate Montreal is down. Is HydroQuebec impacted or not?

Posted by liberalhawk 2003-8-14 5:06:10 PM|| 2003-8-14 5:06:10 PM|| Front Page Top

#18 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A New York State official said the Niagara Mohawk power grid overloaded on Thursday, causing a massive power outage, CNN reported, and New York Major Michael Bloomberg said it was likely a natural occurrence.

"It may be well into the evening before power comes back on," Bloomberg told the U.S. cable television network. He said smoke from a Consolidated Edison Inc. plant in the city was due to the plant's automatic shutdown, not to a fire, as had been reported.

He said, "I can tell you 100 percent sure that there is no evidence as of this moment whatsoever of any terrorism."

A massive power outage swept across swaths of the eastern United States and Canada on Thursday, leaving sections of New York, Detroit, Cleveland and Toronto without electricity, witnesses said.

It was not immediately clear whether the Niagara Mohawk problem caused the wider outage.

Posted by liberalhawk 2003-8-14 5:09:59 PM|| 2003-8-14 5:09:59 PM|| Front Page Top

#19 it appears Montreal is up. SOurce in Gatineau reports French Canadian TV reporting fine.

Posted by liberalhawk 2003-8-14 5:10:43 PM|| 2003-8-14 5:10:43 PM|| Front Page Top

#20 "Hope nobody grabs the opportunity though."

No x-ray machines at airports, so closures at airports.

Posted by liberalhawk 2003-8-14 5:17:18 PM|| 2003-8-14 5:17:18 PM|| Front Page Top

#21 I'd be curious of those people in elevators being able to contact anyone, since the relay towers and such need the juice as well. I imagine many of those stuck would emerge from the elevators like those in the WTC on 9/11 and have no idea what's going on.

My concerns are for those elderly and shut-ins that are suddenly deprived of A/C and have no family or help immediately available. I expect that most hospitals have generators that would at least temporarily provide enough power to get patients stabilized?

All in all, this is going to be another huge hit on the economy. Airlines, factories, service industries, etc., not to mention consumer confidence... whee!

Posted by Dar 2003-8-14 9:41:41 PM|| [http://users.stargate.net/~dsteckel/] 2003-8-14 9:41:41 PM|| Front Page Top

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