In July 2019, the most densely populated city in the United States - New York City, suffered a major power blackout across it’s most recognized neighbourhood of Midtown Manhattan. The blackout was caused by a transformer malfunction at a substation. One way to mitigate these dangers is to make utility infrastructure less susceptible to single points of failure and whilst a transformation in grid design to bolster power reliability and redundancy would be welcome, the political will and economic investment needed to modernize major infrastructure often fall short.

How are owner-operators coping with a lack of control over power reliability at grid level? Is a diverse energy mix becoming more of an option - and a reality to help offset energy dependence on carbon? How will Governor Cuomo’s plan for the state to source 70% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030 impact how computing infrastructure is powered and cooled? How are utility providers helping guard against blackouts and are there successful case studies from other regions which the New York’s grid authorities can learn from?