Explosions from NYC Power Plants

Even if you routinely bribe safety inspectors, politicians, and news media, it's hard to hide failures that "blow up".

It was seen from midtown Manhattan & the Upper East Side!

For an hour, it lost power for subway lines and La Guardia Airport!  For travelers already anxious about arriving at NYC's (globally-substandard/hugely outdated/hugely delayed) airport, imagine the fear of landing at that airport during a power outage blackout!! (evidently, the airport's back-up generators should never have passed inspections, either... but the Port Authority-- which controls NY's dismal airport embarrassments--is not an upstanding organization.).

     That was Con Edison's fourth explosion of the year... for a company that charges New York City's 3,300,000 people for electricity every month!  Additionally, they rip off customers in varied ways, like charging $3.35 for payments over the telephone!  Who charges customers to make payments over the phone?!  Nobody but them.  My month's electricity bill included these charges: $14.27 for the electricity supplied; $1.02 charge for procuring electricity; $18.46 for system infrastructure; $25.14 charge for maintaining the system; $0.12 adjustment for miscellaneous costs from October through May for the effect of variation from normal weather; and $1.33 GRT surcharge.  With all that money--per 3,300,000 customers--it's impossible that they can't upkeep their infrastructure.  Just one of those fees $25,10 paid by 3,300,000 clients = $82,962,000 PER MONTH!

As you can imagine, they have PLENTY of money for "accident prevention". 
They just don't want to give up the money.

Here are the other disasters (that you might expect from a third-world country).  One triggered ConEd's facility to spill 37,000 gallons of oil into the (already polluted) East River.  







Simultaneously, it lost enough power to stop some of NYC's busiest subway lines--which overburdened the other subway lines (see my last blog entry about NYC's subways in the modern era of 2018).

The next was a neglected 100-year-old steam pipe explosion in the Flatiron District that blew asbestos throughout the neighborhood and quarantined seven streets.  





Residents and businesses couldn't return for several days!





(Of course, despite the asbestos--which is regularly found in NYC's outdated/neglected Public Schools--our mayor promptly said the air quality was safe and everything was as fine as it was before).




Another was an electrical/gas explosion on the Upper West Side.





It's worth mentioning the manhole fires caused by faulty electrical work.





You'll easily locate MORE explosions online.  It's sadly becoming a regularity that our high-paying renters and home-owners tolerate.

     Regarding the blue explosion, after 24 HOURS, there was STILL no explanation offered to the taxpaying/ConEd-paying public... which was no surprise.  It was like when the fourth MTA train derailment killed people, it took AN ENTIRE YEAR for the investigation to conclude that--no surprise--the MTA wasn't at fault, but it was the driver's fault for having an "undiagnosed sleeping illness", which caused him to neglect his duty.  Sure.

     Actually, I didn't expect any journalist or politician to actually uncover the cause of the issue, nor did I anticipate ConEd answering honestly.  It would be like trying to get the Mafia or Vatican to admit to wrongdoing.  

It all corroborate's the dismal level of customer service that is associated with this city.  Example:

 It all might be why foreign embassies warns travelers about how dangerous it is to visit New York City (or America, with regard to public shootings).  Is this a place you'd want to spend money to visit?

As they say, "A fish stinks from the head."  
(whether by outright corruption or behind-the-scenes graft).