A sudden explosion at a Con Edison substation in Brooklyn resulted in a temporary power outage that affected all five boroughs of New York City. The incident, which led to a surge in the area, caused a flicker in voltage, leaving residents in the dark for a brief moment on Thursday night. Reports suggest that equipment failure at the Farragut Substation was responsible for the mishap.
Con Edison President Matt Ketschke explained that the incident lasted for only a second before the voltage returned to normal. However, the power interruption was enough to cause disruptions, particularly in elevators across the city. Numerous individuals found themselves trapped inside elevators during the blackout.
Various locations throughout the city reported elevator-related incidents, prompting the New York City Fire Department to respond and rescue those affected. Grand Central Station was also affected, with elevators being temporarily out of service due to the power problem caused by Con Edison. Ketschke acknowledged that electrical equipment like elevators and escalators can be sensitive to momentary fluctuations in power, requiring a reset.
Witnesses described seeing smoke and hearing an explosion at the substation during the equipment failure. Con Edison crews were already working on repairs to a faulty transmission line when the incident occurred. The company is conducting an ongoing investigation to determine the exact cause of the electrical failure.
The New York City Department of Emergency Management was involved in conducting elevator rescues in coordination with Con Edison. The situation has since been resolved, and power has been fully restored across all areas affected by the outage.
As the investigation continues, authorities will be looking into the incident to prevent such occurrences in the future. The safety of New York City residents remains a top priority for both Con Edison and local emergency management officials.
In conclusion, the Brooklyn substation explosion and subsequent power outage in New York City caused inconvenience for residents and led to elevator-related incidents. Con Edison is actively investigating the equipment failure and working to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
