Brooklyn Blackout

Some years ago when we complained to a friend about some of the indignities of living in New York City — the wretched condition of the roads, the fact that the subway does not work in the rain — he responded by advising us that he had learned long ago to think of New York as a third world city, and to be pleased when things worked reasonably well, rather than disappointed when things went less than perfectly. By this analysis, New York is like Bombay or Cairo, not London or Paris.

We thought of this remark yesterday on learning that, with temperatures soaring above 90 degrees Fahrenheit, power had been lost when built-up underground heat caused three electrical lines to fail in Brooklyn. Con Edison asked 89,000 customers in Park Slope, Bay Ridge, Sunset Park, and Borough Park to avoid using "nonessential" appliances, including air conditioners. And the utility distributed dry ice to help keep food cold.

We think of summer power outages as happening on weekdays when office buildings are contributing to the load of electricity usage. And we think of air conditioners, at least in the New York City summer heat, as essential appliances. But why should the electricity supply in New York be any more reliable than that in Baghdad? After all, it's only 2008. Why should anyone expect to be able to use an air conditioner in the summer, or to have their food cooled by a refrigerator rather than ice? It's a matter, as our friend suggested, of adjusting expectations.

There was a time when we felt outrage about such matters. In June of 2003, in an editorial, "Power Play," we wrote, "We'll have to do something. Last year saw blackouts throughout New York City, and this year's peak demand is expected to be up from 2002. The Public Policy Institute, a research affiliate of the Business Council of New York State, has estimated that within the next five years the state needs at least a dozen new power plants." Back in January of 2006, in an editorial titled, "The Blackout of 2010," we wrote of a report from the New York Building Congress on increased demand for electricity. "New York City is running out of time to address the problem. As early as 2008, the city will need reinforcements — additional generators or better transmission lines from outside the five boroughs," we wrote. 2008, indeed.

Maybe the heat has gotten to us. Never mind a dozen new power plants, additional generators, or better transmission lines. At this point we'd just settle for being allowed to use our air conditioner on the weekend when the temperature tops 90, or for a lump of ice of the dry or wet variety. Anything, really, to cool the consequences of the collision of rabid environmentalism, government regulation, and a monopoly utility. What we are going to do is watch for the next day the electricity is working and remember to write an editorial celebrating the news.