The massive power failure that swept over the Northeastern United States, Ontario and Quebec around 4:10 p.m. Thursday threw off the schedules of insurance agents and insurance company personnel in the affected areas, but it might not have much direct effect on insurance claims costs, according to the Insurance Information Institute, Washington.
The blackout grounded airplanes, stopped trains, disrupted traffic signals and shut down freezers, refrigerators and air conditioners in Hartford, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Detroit, Toronto and many points in between.
At 11 p.m., power plant operators had restored 21,300 megawatts of the 61,800 megawatts lost, according to the North American Electric Reliability Council, Princeton, N.J.
