TRR photo by David Hulse The rule was “watch your back” on Broadway in Monticello as motorists adopted parking lot driving rules when traffic signals went dark Thursday afternoon. (Click for larger image)

Blackout 2003

SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY — Northeastern urban dwellers got a taste of country living when a Thursday afternoon failure in the regional electrical power grid killed the power from Detroit to New Haven and from Toronto to New York City.

The New York Times called it the largest blackout in the nation’s history and it began at about 4:15 p.m.

Shortly after 8:00 p.m., NYSEG, the county’s principal electrical utility, announced that under the direction of the statewide system operator, it would begin powering up as soon as voltage in its lines was stabilized. By 10:00 p.m. the utility announced that all Sullivan County customers service had been restored.

Downstate areas did not fare as well, and the blackout lasted through Friday into the weekend in some portions of New York City.

Governor Pataki declared a state of emergency and on Friday asked President Bush to declare a Federal emergency for New York State. The economic cost of the outage in New York City alone was pegged at $1 billion.

Representative Maurice Hinchey laid the blame on the federal administration.

“President Bush said yesterday he has maintained all along that the grid needs to be modernized. Yet when my colleagues and I proposed a plan in 2001 that would provide $350 million for the improvement of power transmission systems the president’s allies in Congress killed the idea,” Hinchey charged on Friday.