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Most of New York City was enveloped in darkness for a brief second after several residents experienced a split-second power outage late Thursday night on December 14, 2023. As countless baffled New Yorkers took to social media to share their concern about the split-second outage, footage emerged on X (formerly Twitter) showing smoke coming from a Brooklyn power plant.
While the official cause of the outage is unclear, a social media account on X, Raws Alerts, said something appeared to "explode" at a Con Edison facility in Brooklyn. It also added that multiple Emergency personnel descended on the scene on reports of an explosion at a Con Edison Electrical Substation in Brooklyn, New York.
Footage showed what appeared to be smoke coming from the New York City plant. However, Con Edison has yet to confirm the reports, leading to widespread speculation online. A netizen even called the outage was a result of a solar flare.
Netizens react as New York City loses power for a split second
A split-second power outage in several Boroughs of New York City on late Thursday around 11:57 pm has sparked wild speculation online, including social media users suggesting it was a result of a solar flare.
However, reacting to the post, another user pointed out that the solar flare event, which has been classified as an X-class (used to describe a most powerful solar flare event since 2017) transpired between 4 and 7 pm EST, suggesting that the outage couldn’t be attributed to a celestial event.
In the wake of the outage, multiple social media users took to X to express their shock and confusion over the incident. Here are some of the posts:
As social media users continued to speculate, footage emerged on social media of smoke coming from a Brooklyn power plant. Several people believe that the explosion at the Con Edison power plant was responsible for a brief power outage. Con Edison is an energy company that provides electric and gas services to New York City.
An X user Sean Scott wrote,
"Looks like something small exploded at the ConEd plant in Brooklyn, sending a small fireball and smoke into the air, and causing a momentary NYC power outage."
Raws Alerts also reported several witnesses had described seeing a green flash before lights flickered across New York City, with some residents experiencing power outages.
"Numerous witnesses described seeing a green flash, followed by widespread lights flickering across the city into New York into New Jersey, with some residents experiencing power outages. ConED crews are currently investigating this issue."
Meanwhile, another video shared on X showed firefighters and police at the New York City power plant. Authorities have yet to respond to the incident.
