ABSTRACT
On July 13, 1977, at about 8:30 in the evening, lightning strikes began to hit electrical-generation facilities and power lines north of New York City. Power company staff began to juggle the load on the system, which was already stressed by the demands of a hot and humid night. Despite their efforts, the entire Con Edison system shut down about an hour after the first bolt hit the Buchanan, New York, substation. With the exception of a few neighborhoods in southern Queens, New York City was entirely blacked out.
