(2007-07-20) Nyc Steam

We had a big steam-pipe (Infrastructure) explosion the other day which freaked out some people and killed one (of heart attack). So we were wondering, why is steam distributed through the city? Who uses it? So, found out

• steam provides 7% of ConEd revenue

• it's generated by 5 different plants around Manhattan, and 1 each in Queens and Brooklyn

• it gets used for heating (duh), Hot Water, and Air Conditioning

  • the Empire State Building, Metropolitan Museum, and UN all use that steam

• it also gets used by hospitals (for cleaning/sterilizing - ConEd steam actually meets FDA standards, whatever that means) and dry cleaners