Power Blackout Hits Parts Of Queens, NYC: Con Edison Urges Energy Conservation As Temps Spike

Nearly 9,000 Consolidated Edison customers were without power Monday morning, with the majority of outages concentrated in Southeast Queens.

Con Edison blamed the blackout on the „heat wave affecting the region” and asked customers „to conserve energy while crews repair equipment.”

The blackout zone—home to 166,000 customers—includes neighborhoods such as Jamaica, Laurelton, Cambria Heights, and Queens Village, bounded by Grand Central Parkway, Jamaica Bay, Nassau County, and the Van Wyck Expressway.

The latest data from the power tracking website Power Outage shows 8,830 outages across Queens.

The utility asked customers in the impacted areas to avoid using „energy-intensive appliances such as washers, dryers, and microwaves until crews complete repairs” and „limit unnecessary use of air conditioning. If you have two air conditioners, use only one and set it to the highest comfortable temperature.”

The cause of the blackout has yet to be revealed by the utility. Still, the grid operator PJM Interconnection, the operator of the largest U.S. power grid serving 65 million people across 13 states and D.C., issued a „Maximum Generation Alert” for Monday, ordering all available power generation to run at full capacity to ensure power demand is met early this week amid rapidly tightening conditions.

In its 6–10 day temperature outlook map, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center forecasts above-average temperatures across much of the eastern half of the U.S. through the end of the month.

The National Weather Service has issued heat watches and warnings across much of the eastern U.S., with temperatures in the Washington–Baltimore–Philadelphia–New York City corridor expected to soar near 100°F early this week.

Latest weather reporting:

• „Maximum Generation Alert” Issued for Nation’s Largest Power Grid

• Weather Check: „It’s About To Get Brutal”

• U.S. Power Grid „Getting Critically Tight” — Time To Consider Backup Power At Home

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