A brutal heatwave caused brownouts as homes and businesses in New York City and Westchester County crank up their air conditioners and could push power usage to a new all-time record on Friday, said power provider Consolidated Edison.
Power companies across the US Northeast, including Con Edison, said they had enough electricity to meet the demand, but warned heavy usage could stress some power lines and generating facilities, which could leave some customers in the dark temporarily.
Con Edison reduced the voltage, a so-called brownout, due to equipment failures in several neighbourhoods in Westchester and Queens overnight, affecting more than 100,000 customers.
The US National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warning until 10 pm EDT (0200 GMT) for the New York City area. Temperatures in New York will reach 99 Fahrenheit (37 Celsius) on Friday with the humidity making it feel more like 112 F, according to weather forecaster AccuWeather.com.