Manhattan, NY - U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer is calling for a federal probe into a blackout that left thousands of people in Manhattan without power for several hours.

The New York Democrat says the Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity should investigate the work being done by Con Edison to maintain and upgrade the city’s power grid after the power failure on Saturday night in some of the busiest parts of Manhattan.

Schumer says the federal agency should consider the New York City blackout a national priority because any lessons learned can be applied nationally.

In a statement Sunday, Con Ed said it would be conducting “a diligent and vigorous investigation” to figure out the cause of the blackout.