The partial blackout was caused by a transformer fire, according to New York fire officials. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said that the New York Police Department has confirmed there was no foul play, “this was a mechanical issue.”
By late Saturday night, officials said power was being restored to thousands of customers.
“Power has been restored after today’s blackout, but New Yorkers should continue to exercise caution as everything returns to normal,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Twitter late Saturday. “When things are at their worst, New Yorkers are at their best, and they were at their best tonight.”
Power has been restored after today’s #blackout, but New Yorkers should continue to exercise caution as everything returns to normal.
When things are at their worst, New Yorkers are at their best, and they were at their best tonight.— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) July 14, 2019
At the height of the outage, about 73,000 customers were affected, according to John McAvoy, CEO of Con Edison. He said the utility hopes to have power “restored to all customers, hopefully, by midnight tonight.”
New York authorities said there were no reports of fatalities or injuries.
Cuomo said he has directed a state agency to conduct an investigation into the blackout. He said in a statement that although no injuries have been reported “the fact that it happened at all is unacceptable,” and the Department of Public Service will investigate the blackout.
Cuomo said he has called in the National Guard to help with traffic and safety issues.
“They (Con Edison) told me earlier it would be one or two hours and now it is several hours,” Cuomo said. “So I just want to make sure we are prepared.”
