On August 14, 2003, a significant power outage struck the eastern United States and parts of Canada, beginning at 4:10 p.m. ET.
Within a span of just three minutes, 21 power plants went offline, impacting 50 million people across major cities including New York, Cleveland, Detroit, Toronto, and Ottawa.
While some areas saw power restored within two hours, others remained without electricity for over a day.
The blackout halted trains and elevators, disrupted cellular networks, hospital operations, and airport traffic. In New York City, the evacuation of passengers from stalled subway trains took over two hours, and many small businesses faced losses due to spoiled refrigerated goods.
Water service was interrupted in several areas due to the shutdown of electric water pumps, and there were even reports of amusement park visitors being stranded on roller coasters. However, the New York Stock Exchange and bond market continued trading thanks to backup generators.
Initially, there were concerns about terrorism, but authorities quickly dispelled these fears, though they struggled to pinpoint the cause.
A joint U.S.-Canada investigation eventually identified Ohio’s FirstEnergy Corporation as the source of the problem.
The outage was triggered by an unexpected shutdown at FirstEnergy’s EastLake plant, caused by overgrown trees contacting a power line, which initiated a cascade of failures across the grid. FirstEnergy faced criticism for inadequate maintenance and delayed response.
Despite the disruption, crime rates remained low, with New York City reporting about 100 fewer arrests than usual.
Many residents pitched in to help manage the situation, aiding elderly neighbors and directing traffic in the absence of functioning signals.
The economic impact on New York City alone was estimated at over $500 million.
