Governor Cuomo Announces Power Fully Restored After Manhattan Blackout

Tours Substation that Caused Outages with Con Ed Chairman John MacAvoy 

Directs PSC to Investigate Incident

Deploys 200 Troopers to Assist Traffic on West Side During Outages

  Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced power has been fully restored following a widespread power outage in Midtown Manhattan. Following a briefing on site, the Governor toured the substation that caused the outages with Con Edison Chairman John MacAvoy. The Governor deployed 200 Troopers on the West Side to help direct traffic during the outages and to be assigned to other locations as necessary. The Governor has also directed personnel from the Office of Emergency Management, fire protection and control and the Public Service Commission to be deployed to locations without power. 

"While power has been restored, there are still some traffic signals that are out, so we would not encourage New Yorkers to go out if you don't have to go out," Governor Cuomo said. "I want to commend all the emergency workers who did a fantastic job. The NYPD, the State Police, the State Power Officials, all the emergency workers. This could have been much worse. When you're talking about a city like New York with a significant piece of the city, basically suffering a blackout, that could be a very chaotic situation. We saw the exact opposite, actually. We saw New Yorkers at their best."  

"While this situation was luckily contained, the fact that it happened at all is unacceptable," Governor Cuomo continued.  "I have directed the PSC to do a full and thorough investigation into the cause of tonight's blackout and we will hold all parties accountable in ensuring this does not happen again."

As the result of an issue with a transmission line, a widespread blackout occurred in midtown Manhattan and part of the Upper West Side. At its peak, the number of customers without power reached approximately 72,000, and subway service was disrupted on the A, C, D, F and M lines. The Governor directed the State Police, the MTA and the Public Service Commission to deploy personnel and resources to respond to the incident and remain in constant communication with Con Ed. The Governor also directed the Department of Public Service to investigate the cause of the outages.