Thousands In New York Without Power As Blackout Problem Enters Fifth Day

NEW YORK (AP) -- A mysterious electrical problem blamed for subway delays, flight cancellations and power outages on the hottest days of the year persisted for a fifth day Friday, leaving 25,000 customers without power.

Power company Con Edison initially said that fewer than 2,000 customers were affected, but it increased that number tenfold Friday morning.

"Previous estimates were based on the number of customers who had called the company to say they were without electricity," the utility said in a statement.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, speaking on his weekly radio show, said he was "annoyed" by the news because "we might have thrown more resources into the area."

"The sad thing is, this shouldn't have happened," Bloomberg said. "We don't know why, but the most important thing -- make sure nobody dies or gets hurt and then help Con Ed to get it back up."

Bloomberg said the utility's latest estimate was that most of the problems could be fixed by the end of the weekend.

The blackouts started Monday in a handful of neighborhoods in Queens. Two LaGuardia Airport terminals lost power Monday night and again on Tuesday.

Hundreds of businesses have since been idle, and the city's jail complex on Rikers Island had to operate on backup generators. Some building elevators were not running and traffic lights at some intersections were not working.

"This is outrageous," City Councilman Peter F. Vallone Jr. said. "When is this going to be fixed? If it's going to be days, they should tell people it is going to be days."

The blackouts were at their worst on Wednesday, when 10 of the 22 feeder cables that supply the area with power were down simultaneously. The temperature had hit 100 degrees in the neighborhood the day before.

Consolidated Edison spokesman Chris Olert said the power company was making every effort to get the situation fixed but couldn't estimate when that might happen. He said the company didn't know why things went wrong.

"Chances are fair, but not firm, that it was heat related, but right now that is just a hypothesis," he said.

Bloomberg demanded that the utility investigate and deliver a report on the cause within two weeks.

That was little consolation for Gianni DellaPolla, 26, a baker at Gian & Piero Bakery.

"We probably lost $25,000 in business in three days," DellaPolla told the Daily News. "Everything like wedding cakes, eggs, creams, we had to throw all that out."