On August 14, 2003, more than 50 million people in the US and Canada were affected by a massive power outage. On that hot summer day, the event also left New York City completely without electricity. Occurring during rush hour, the outage disrupted transportation, halted subways and commuter trains, and left hundreds of people trapped in elevators.
When air conditioners stopped working, the number of people on the streets sharply increased. Mobile communication and television went down, and some thought it was a terrorist attack. Thousands were forced to spend the night in parks and on pedestrian paths.
Candles lit in the darkness led to numerous fires — in Brooklyn alone, 25 major blazes were recorded in a single day.
Investigations found that the outage was caused by an overheated cable at FirstEnergy’s station in Ohio, which sagged into trees. Protection systems kicked in, triggering a chain reaction. A software glitch prevented operators from assessing the situation in time.
Power was restored in New York after 29 hours. Experts view this incident as a result of the US’s aging power infrastructure and underinvestment.
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