<P> Affected areas included most of Hudson, Morris, Essex, Union, Passaic, and Bergen counties, including the major cities of Paterson and Newark, although some sections of Newark and East Orange still had power; also, small sections of certain towns in Essex, Hudson, and Union counties had power . Power was returned first to the urban areas because of concerns of safety and unrest . Counties as far south as Cumberland were affected, where power was restored within an hour . Some towns in Bergen County only momentarily lost power, and had wild oscillations in power line voltage, ranging from about 90V to 135V every few minutes for an hour . </P> <P> The day following the blackout, August 15, the New Jersey Turnpike stopped collecting tolls until 9: 00 a.m. </P> <P> The Baltimore - Washington area was not affected other than transportation scheduling . </P> <P> Parts of New London, Hartford, New Haven, Litchfield, and Fairfield counties, from Greenwich to Danbury and Bridgeport, were affected, although most of the state had power all evening, aside from a few momentary interruptions that caused computers to reboot . Metro - North trains stopped and remained on the tracks for hours, until they could be towed to the nearest station . Generally, most of the state east of Interstate 91, and some places west of I - 91, had power during the duration of the blackout, with some of New Haven's eastern suburbs being seen as the easternmost extreme of the effects of the blackout . </P>

How long did the blackout in 2003 last