Local power outages, heat, and community characteristics in New York City

Electrical power outages are of increasing interest to US urban scholars, government officials and stakeholders, as they have increased in number and duration with significant health and economic, among other, impacts. This analysis examines reports of power outages in New York City in relation to socioeconomic and health characteristics of neighborhoods. Using the city's 311-call database we examine complaint calls for power outages from 2014 to 2022. While 311-calls for power outages occur all year long, volume trended higher during the warmer months (June, July and August), and as minimum daily temperatures exceeded 20 degrees C (68 degrees F), the number of calls increased dramatically. Spatial clusters of high call areas were in Census tracts with high energy burdens, lower-income households, and high percentages of people of color. Furthermore, we found the higher call areas were associated with higher vulnerability to heat-exacerbated deaths. As climate change is expected to raise temperatures and increase the frequency and intensity of heat waves around the world, and as power outages are becoming more common, these findings will help to provide guidance for adaptation and energy reliability policies in New York City and have implications for other cities globally.