DONNA KELLEY, CNN ANCHOR: Hot muggy weather has the power system in the New York City region stretched to the limit, and people are being urged to conserve energy. Let's check in now with CNN's Brian Palmer in New York. He's there sweating it out with us in New York. Hi, Brian.</s>BRIAN PALMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Donna. It's too darn hot here in New York, but there's really nothing we can do about it. It's our fifth day in the 90s here, with temperatures expected to go past 100, if they haven't hit 100 already. It's sweltering, city officials say, but it's not yet a crisis. There've been scattered outages in New York City. There have also been 22,000 power outages in Long Island over the past three days, but officials say they're on top of that. Now officials throughout the area are taking steps to beat the heat. New York City has opened 400 emergency cooling centers, which I guess are of particular value to seniors, who may not have air conditioning at home and who are particularly vulnerable to the heat. They're also advising citizens to stay inside during the midday hours,but also to cut their use of electricity. Now New York State's governor, George Pataki, has ordered city offices closed early today, and he is also opened state parks and beaches for free -- Donna.</s>KELLEY: Brian Palmer in New York, Take care of your health there. Thank you. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Hot, Muggy Weather Has New York Power System Stretched