Northeast blackout of 2003

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Northeast blackout of 2003
This image shows areas where power outages happened. Not everywhere in these political borders were affected.
DateAugust 14–16, 2003 (2003-08-14 – 2003-08-16)
Duration2 hours–4 days, depending on location
LocationNortheastern United States, Central Canada
TypeBlackout
CauseSoftware bug in the alarm system in the control room of FirstEnergy

List of Northeast Blackout Cities[change | change source]

Connecticut

Massachusetts

Michigan

New Jersey

New York

Ohio

Ontario

Pennsylvania


The Northeast blackout of 2003 was a big power outage that happened in many parts of the northeastern and midwestern United States, and the Canadian area of Ontario on Thursday, August 14, 2003, starting soon after 4:10 p.m. EDT.[1]

Most places got power back by midnight (in about 7 hours since it was lost), some as early as 6 p.m. on August 14 (in 2 hours since it was lost),[2] while the New York City Subway started serving customers again by 8 p.m.[2] Full power came back to New York City and Toronto on August 16.[3] It was the world's second biggest blackout in history, second to the 1999 Southern Brazil blackout.[4][5]

The blackout happened because of a software problem in the alarm area of the control room of FirstEnergy.

References[change | change source]

  1. ↑ "What Caused the Power Blackout To Spread So Widely and So Fast?" (Press release). Genscape. August 15, 2003. Archived from the original on May 18, 2016. Retrieved July 13, 2011 – via PR Newswire.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Major power outage hits New York, other large cities". CNN. Turner Broadcasting System. August 14, 2003. Archived from the original on September 14, 2008. Retrieved September 16, 2008.
  3. ↑ International Comparison Major Blackouts and Restoration (PDF) (Report). 2016-05-05. pp. 16–17. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-03-13.
  4. ↑ "2003: The great North America blackout". CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. August 14, 2003. Archived from the original on August 15, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2008.
  5. ↑ "INDEPTH: Power Outage | Timeline". CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. August 18, 2004. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved September 15, 2008.


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