[GOPrincess]

"Some of the infrastructure in NY and those other big cities is old and maybe wasn't meant to carry the loads they carry."

Interesting point. Maybe the system simply isn't as up-to-date as some of us, myself included, would tend to expect (especially given that this supposedly wasn't supposed to be able to happen again).

[FITZ]

Maybe the system simply isn't as up-to-date as some of us, myself included, would tend to expect

I think if we look at it with perspective --- many of our grandparents were in the first generation to even have electricity. I think it's pretty reliable considering those old cities had electricity added to them well after they were already big cities ---and they can't change the whole system in just a few years. Plus we keep adding to our electrical needs ---- 50 years ago, most people didn't have air conditioning and all the appliances they have now. I can see how big systems would start shutting down with power surges tripping breakers.