NYC Blackout Season Underway

Reports earlier this week had noted that Con Ed had not upgraded the power system sufficiently in some areas of the city, despite its claims that it pumped $1+ billion into upgrading the system following a disastrous blackout last summer that left parts of Queens in the dark for over a week.

Well, the blackout season is starting up again. A swath of the Upper East Side is in the dark as a blackout gripped more than 30 blocks. Subways are also affected.

The affected area appears to stretch from 75th Street to 110th Street from 5th Avenue to the Hudson River.

The Transportation Authority reports that they also experienced a power dip. Trains stopped and went into emergency brake procedures.

Power is not back, but there are still delays. Train lines affected were the 6, E and V trains.

There are reports of people possibly trapped in elevators.

Other reports indicate that more subway lines are affected.

UPDATE:
The problems started with an explosion in a power substation in the Bronx. More than 130,000 customers are affected by the blackout, not to mention those who rely on the subway service on the busiest lines in the city.

UPDATE:
WCBS News is reporting that the outages may extend as far South as the East Village. That's several miles south of the initial reports for the blackout area.

UPDATE:
Gothamist is on the same page for headlines and is a good place to go for updates, including their handy dandy Gothamist maps feature that might give some idea of the mess this blackout is causing for the police and firefighters who have to deal with folks stuck in elevators, handle the traffic management duties, and everything else you can think of.

The Office of Emergency Management now says that 375,000 people are without power. Ouch.

Only a few days ago Con Ed said that it had enough power on hand. Well, that may be true, but its distribution system surely isn't up to the task, meaning that this is likely not to be the only blackout this summer.

UPDATE:
Con Ed has been able to restore service and the subway service has been restored, though service is definitely crowded. Delays are going to persist for some time as people find trains completely packed with those trying to get to their destinations during the rush hour.