Health & Fitness
2003 Blackout Anniversary
Ten years ago today, New York City went dark for more than 24 hours when a downed tree knocked out power to a line in Ohio and triggered the largest blackout in US history. The federal government took immediate action to work with grid operators in the US and Canada to ensure another cascading event does not occur in the US. Despite efforts to improve grid reliability, New Yorkers still fear the re-occurrence of a widespread blackout here.
In conjunction with 10-year anniversary of the northeast blackout, New York AREA conducted an informal survey to get an idea of how New Yorkers feel about the reliability of our electric grid. The results revealed that although a majority of respondents – nearly 70 – said New York’s grid is more reliable today than 10 years ago, nearly half also believe New York is still just as likely today as it was 10 years ago to suffer a large-scale blackout event. A majority of New Yorkers also say they’re prepared at some level in the event of another large-scale power outage, with 67.5% of respondents saying they are somewhat prepared for and 25.3% saying they are very prepared.
New Yorkers aren’t alone in their fear of another blackout. New York AREA this week released a white paper and infographic featuring the 10 key challenges to grid reliability in New York and the 10 corresponding recommendations to eliminate the likelihood of future blackouts. “The 2003 Northeast Blackout, Ten Years Later,” includes the following recommendations:
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- Prioritize investments in the “Energy Highway.”
- Empower the state’s generation siting board to expedite the power plant siting process.
- Drop New York State’s opposition to the Indian Point nuclear power plant so that one of New York’s largest power plants can continue to operate.
- Reduce reliance on out-of-state electricity and the related outsourcing of jobs.
- Reduce an assortment of energy taxes and fees which do not promote grid reliability.
The white paper’s authors, New York AREA Chairman Jerry Kremer and Advisory Board member Dr. Matthew Cordaro, conclude that the way to overcome these challenges is by maintaining a world-class generation and transmission system to provide long-term stimulus to New York’s economy, reduce carbon and other toxic emissions, and enhance public safety.
