Commuters sleep on the steps of the General Post Office in New York early Friday morning, Aug. 15, 2003 after being stranded because of the city's electrical blackout. The blackout, which affected everything from trains to mobile phones, occurred across much of northeastern United States and parts of Canada. (AP Photo/ Mike Appleton)
Cyclists pass by police at an intersection in midtown Manhattan as huge power blackouts hit New York and other major cities across the northeast United States and Canada.(AFP/Mandel Ngan
Cars head over the Brooklyn Bridge beside a blacked out New York City skyline. Top New York officials said that Canada had been the source of the huge power outages that hit the northeast United States and Ontario.(AFP/Spencer Platt)
Jeremy Duranczau(r) and Neil Holt, from Bowling Green, Kentucky sit stranded in New York's darkened Times Square early August 15, 2003. hundreds of tired, haggard-looking commuters left stranded by the blackout awoke from their makeshift beds, lumbering into the dim light of the rising sun. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)
Motorists and pedestrians jam traffic on the Brooklyn bridge after a power outage in New York. A fire in a power plant in upstate New York sparked the massive blackout across the northeastern United States and southern Canada.(AFP/Mandel Ngan)
Patrons sit outside of a cafe on Fifth Avenue in New York City August 15, 2003 after the biggest power outage in North American history blacked New York and other major U.S. and Canadian cities. Restaurants and Cafe's in New York brought tables out to the sidewalks due to lack of lights and air conditioning. REUTERS/Jeff Christensen
New York City skyline is seen at sunrise during a power outage August 15, 2003. More than 12 hours after the biggest North American power outage in history left huge swaths of the Northeast in sweltering darkness, much of New York and its suburbs were still without electricity. The subways were not running and many residents had no water because their electric pumps were not working. REUTERS/Chip East
View of a blacked out New York city skyline during a power outage. The price of reference Brent North Sea crude oil rose 35 cents per barrel to 29.22 dollars on nervousness about massive power outages in North America.(AFP/Getty Images/Spencer Platt)
A woman swings a light about her head to attract the attention of passing taxis in New York City. Analysts said the blackouts will deal a huge financial blow, creating havoc on airlines, thawing frozen goods and shutting out masses of workers(AFP/Mandel
Will Hay, from Manhattan, sits on pole in the middle of Times Square around 3 a.m. in the morning as a power outage shut down the Eastern Seaboard August 15, 2003. In New York's Times Square on Friday, hundreds of tired, haggard-looking commuters left stranded by the blackout awoke from their makeshift beds, lumbering into the dim light of the rising sun.REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
Diners at a bistro continue with their meal under candlelight in downtown New York. Huge power blackouts paralyzed New York and other major cities across the northeast United States and Canada after a massive failure of the regional electrical supply system(AFP/Mandel Ngan
Email this slideshow Blacked out New York City with only a few lights in buildings and moving traffic lighting the dark streets. A failure in a power plant in upstate New York near the Canadian border triggered a massive blackout Thursday across the northeastern United States and southern Canada(AFP/Mandel Ngan)
People lay stranded outside the Times Square Marriot around 3 a.m. in the morning as a power outage shut down the Eastern Seaboard August 15, 2003. More than 12 hours after the biggest North American power outage in history left huge swaths of the Northeast in sweltering darkness, much of New York and its suburbs were still without electricity. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
People lay stranded in the entrance to Grand Central Station around 3 a.m. in the morning during a power outage in New York August 15, 2003. More than 12 hours after the biggest North American power outage in history left huge swaths of the Northeast in sweltering darkness, much of New York and its suburbs were still without electricity. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton