New York slowly lighting up

2003-08-15 15:18

New York - Electricity filtered back to more than one third of the people living in New York City, a spokesperson for Consolidated Edison power company said.

"More of one third of our customers have power back and we have 3.1 million," said spokesperson Chris Olert.

Consolidated Edison, which serves the five New York City boroughs and Westchester County, said it was impossible to predict exactly how long full restoration would take.

"We don't have a timetable for that. It may be today, maybe tomorrow," Olert said.

So far, electricity was back in all of the Staten Island and part of the other four city boroughs: the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan. Some areas in Westchester also were back up.

Most of the customers in Long Island - 800 000 out of 1.1 million - also were back up, said Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) spokesperson Linda Nicolino.

The Mayor in Cleveland, Ohio, Jane Campbell, told CNN television that all power stations in her city were running and she expected full restoration of electricity within hours.

"So far there have been no major incidents that we know of," New York police spokesperson Dennis Ferber said.

"Most of the calls were for people stuck in the subway and elevators but most of that has all been sorted out now. There is no one left in the subway."

- AFP