The Great Blackout of 2003

It was on this date, August 14, 2003, at 4.15 pm EDT (20.15 UTC) that the Northeast Blackout plunged the northeastern and midwestern United States and Ontario, Canada (including Toronto) into darkness. Initially, many people (including myself) thought that the power failure was very local in nature. However, it soon became evident about the sheer magnitude of this event. At the time, it was the most widespread electrical blackout in history. The blackout affected an estimated 10 million people in Ontario and 45 million people in eight U.S. states.