New York City residents told utility can’t produce enough electricity to keep them cool

New York City residents have been told during the past roughly two weeks of an ongoing heat wave to turn their air conditioners up to 78 degrees Fahrenheit from 2-10 p.m. – including Tuesday when temperatures were around 100 degrees.

According to the New York Post, the request came as utility Con Edison became concerned that power demands would create grid reliability problems. Turning down air conditioning would help prevent blackouts, Democrat Mayor Eric Adams said during a news conference Monday. 

The state of New York set an aggressive goal of getting 70% of its electricity from hydroelectric and intermittent wind and solar power by 2030.

Politico reported earlier this month that Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration was looking at pushing back the goal to 2033 after state officials issued a report stating New York likely would miss the 2030 target.