© 2026 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Congressional Investigation into Blackout Begins

NPR | By David Kestenbaum
Published August 18, 2003 at 12:00 AM EDT

The lights of lower Manhattan blaze under the Brooklyn Bridge as electricity returned to New York City Aug. 15, following the largest power outage in U.S. history.
/
The lights of lower Manhattan blaze under the Brooklyn Bridge as electricity returned to New York City Aug. 15, following the largest power outage in U.S. history.
The New York City subway returns to service after a 33-hour stoppage due to the blackout.
/
The New York City subway returns to service after a 33-hour stoppage due to the blackout.

Congress opens its investigation into the cause of the largest electrical outage in U.S. history. Two other probes -- one by a joint U.S.-Canadian task force and the other by the North American Electric Reliability Council -- are already under way. Analysts express concern over possible conflicting recommendations. Hear NPR's David Kestenbaum.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Tags
NPR Top Stories
David Kestenbaum
David Kestenbaum is a correspondent for NPR, covering science, energy issues and, most recently, the global economy for NPR's multimedia project Planet Money. David has been a science correspondent for NPR since 1999. He came to journalism the usual way — by getting a Ph.D. in physics first.
See stories by David Kestenbaum

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

Donate

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

Donate

Related Content