Congressional Investigation into Blackout Begins

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 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.

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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

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