Thousands of New Yorkers were left without power on Sunday as the city reached scorching temperatures over 100F degrees.
More than 44,000 Con Edison customers across all five New York boroughs and in northern suburbs lost power by 8pm ET on Sunday as temperatures boiled in the 90s and Brooklyn reached a heat index of 102F.
Around 6pm about 10,000 outages were counted in New York City, but the number skyrocketed to over 22,000 an hour later. In Brooklyn, the power outage started just after 5pm, with hundreds losing electricity.
The power outage compounded with extreme heat led several manholes in Brooklyn to burn.
Con Ed cut power to some 30,000 people in Canarsie, Mill Basin and Flatbush, Brooklyn to make repairs, as per Pix11.
Con Edison outages on Sunday pictured above as thousands were left without power sweltering heat that reached a heat index of 102F in Brooklyn
Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted about the outage Sunday afternoon saying 4,500 customers in Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan were affected
‘Con Ed is responding to outages affecting roughly 4,500 customers citywide. Largest outages are in Flushing and Richmond Hill in Queens; Park Slope, Flatbush and Brighton Beach in Brooklyn; and Lincoln Square in Manhattan,’ Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted at around 5pm, as his own Park Slope neighborhood was affected.
By 8pm there were over 27,000 outages reported
‘City agencies are working with them to restore power ASAP.’
‘The accumulated heat and strain from the past few days has built up in the electrical equipment,’ he added.
According to Con Edison, at 5.30pm there were 3,697 customers without power in Queens and 4,685 without electricity in Brooklyn. In Manhattan there were 257 outages. The Bronx had 11 and Staten Island had 31, as per the New York Post.
By 6, the number without power staggered as Queens hit 4,085 without electricity, Brooklyn had 4,787, and the Bronx reported 1,359 without power.
There were 188 outages on Manhattan and 94 on Staten Island by 6.
New York’s Fire Wire Twitter page posted that around 6pm man holes in Brooklyn on Myrtle Avenue started to burn as a result of the outages.
On Sunday New York reached scorching temperatures that reached a heat index of 102F in Brooklyn. Locals cooling off at Washington Square Park above
Con Edison blamed the outage on the heat wave, which reached a peak heat index of 110F degrees this week. People pictured cooling off in Astoria Pool in Queens on Saturday above
Utility crews pictured restoring power in Jamaica, Queens over the weekend after power outages were reported
Around 8pm, Mayor de Blasio tweeted that the number of outages spiked over 30,000.
‘Here’s where we stand: Con Ed is taking 30K customers in Brooklyn, including Carnarsie, Mill Basin and Flatbush, temporarily off power so it can make repairs and prevent a bigger outage.,’ he tweeted.
He said the New York Fire Department and emergency services were on hand to help those stuck in the outages and give aid to senior citizens.
‘The @FDNY @NYCEmergencyMgt and other City agencies are on the ground and responding to any stuck elevators — and making sure seniors and any vulnerable populations have the support they need,’ he tweeted.
‘I just spoke to Con Ed’s president about tonight’s outages. Their system in parts of Brooklyn is under severe strain and some equipment has failed,’ he added.
Around 7pm, Mayor de Blasio tweeted that the number of outages spiked to 15,000.
The Mayor said the New York Fire Department and emergency services were on hand to help those stuck in the outages and give aid to senior citizens
Con Edison issued a statement to customers via e-mail, text and Twitter to conserve energy by reducing the usage of non-essential electronics such as clothes washers, dryers, dishwashers, and unneeded lighting
On Sunday, New York city hit a new record high for weekend power consumption as residents blasted their AC’s to stay cool in the blistering heat wave that has baked the state in 90F weather over the past week.
Con Edison blamed the outage on the heat wave, which reached a peak heat index of 110F degrees.
The utility says that crews will be working overnight to restore power.
Con Edison issued a statement to customers via e-mail, text and Twitter to conserve energy by reducing the usage of non-essential electronics such as clothes washers, dryers, dishwashers, and unneeded lighting.
The Big Apple saw a similar blackout last weekend when about 73,000 customers lost power in Manhattan for several hours.