New York City Faces Another Huge Blackout

New York City suffered blackouts in 1977 and 2003. Weaknesses in the grid were partially to blame. The periods were also among the hottest in the summer. The grid’s challenges will not get any better this year. A short number of days with temperatures above 100 degrees F could cause another blackout. This might be forced by overuse, or the system might falter. 

Analysts believe there are several threats to NYC’s electricity. Severe weather, grid failures, equipment malfunctions, or cyberattacks could trigger a Big Apple blackout. National Standby says among the problems could be thunderstorms and air conditioning use. Utilities sometimes ask people to preserve electricity during parts of the day when AC is most likely to be used. 

Empire Center

The Empire Center reports, “The potential 2025 shortfall will be as much as 446 megawatts. That’s equivalent to having 400,000 homes too many for the available electrical supply. And that will be the case just in normal summer weather. The shortfall will become even worse if there is a heat wave that increases demand.”

Eventually, the grid that supplies NYC will need to handle AI server centers and probably Bitcoin miming. The 1977 NYC blackout caused chaos, and it could happen again.

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