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QUEENS (AP) ― As ceiling fans sputtered and refrigerators failed, residents of an electricity-challenged Queens neighborhood suffered through scattered power outages Wednesday that brought back memories of last month's brutal 10-day blackout -- only this time, with temperatures that hit 101.

Astoria grocer Salm Ali, who lost $17,000 in produce during the big blackout, felt a familiar sickening sense as he threw away $5,000 worth of produce Wednesday morning. His Liberty Deli and Grocery lost power Tuesday night and was only getting sporadic electricity the next morning.

"This is the life," he said sarcastically. "Even the fan isn't working."

Neither were the air conditioners or the refrigerators. Consolidated Edison reported about 1,200 residents in Astoria lost power overnight and nearly all had electricity restored by Wednesday afternoon as the utility's trucks turned out in force around the neighborhood. The last blackout affected 100,000 residents in northwest Queens.

Anthony Giannole, manager/owner of a Sunoco gas station on Astoria Boulevard, said the last power outage cost him $8,000 in business. The repair work on Wednesday blocked access to his station, once again hitting him in the wallet.

"I can't sell any gas because of our friends at Con Edison," said Giannole. "It's getting very annoying."

But power outages were sporadic and spaced out despite temperatures that soared to 101 degrees in the afternoon at LaGuardia Airport, a short hop from Astoria, and 96 degrees in Central Park, where the record for the date was 100. On Long Island, the temperature hit 97 in Islip, while White Plains in the northern suburbs was at 96.

The heat index, a measure of temperature plus humidity, made it feel like 107 degrees in Central Park. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the city was fortunate that no fatalities were linked to the brutal weather. Straphangers were in for a sweltering commute -- the temperature was about 111 at a Pennsylvania Station subway platform.

Con Edison set a record for peak electricity demand, reaching 13,141 megawatts, enough electricity to power about 13 million homes, at 5 p.m. Wednesday; that topped the 13,103 megawatts a day earlier. The Long Island Power Authority also set a peak hour summer record of 5,736 megawatts.

By Wednesday evening, 5,674 Con Edison customers -- about 23,000 people -- were without power in Westchester County, the Bronx and Queens; Con Ed was trying to restore power and figure out why it went out. On Long Island, about 2,200 outages were reported.

The heat was taking its toll on residents.

"It's unbearable, it's oppressive," said Joy Haber, 44, of Woodbury, who canceled a trip into Manhattan because of the stifling weather. Her 13-year-old son, Sean, skipped day camp when his bus arrived with a malfunctioning air conditioner.

They weren't the only ones staying home. The platinum-selling Dixie Chicks postponed their Wednesday night show at the outdoor Jones Beach Theater due to the sweltering conditions. There was no word on a makeup date.

In the Riverdale section of the Bronx, 175 senior citizens were evacuated Tuesday night when the power went out at the Atria adult living facility, authorities said.

The National Weather Service again posted warnings for excessive heat and air stagnation due to the stifling humidity. Temperatures overnight were only expected to drop into the upper 80s, with another brutal day of heat expected Thursday.

Con Ed CEO Kevin Burke met for an hour with Bloomberg at City Hall, where they discussed the company's preliminary report on the earlier Queens blackout. The report offered no conclusions on the cause of the outage, although Bloomberg said the city will press the utility for answers.

"Am I satisfied with it? Of course not," Bloomberg told a news conference at which he promised the heat would soon be on the utility.

"We will find out what happened, get to the bottom of this and we will hold Con Ed responsible," said the mayor, adding that he planned to bring in outside investigators.

Burke, speaking later Wednesday, said the utility had no problem with that.

"We'll take all the help we can get," Burke said.

Community outreach teams were patrolling the streets, looking for homeless people and encouraging them to head to air-conditioned drop-in centers, carrying water and checking for dehydration. City officials reported a 20 percent increase in calls to the Emergency Medical Service on Tuesday, a 10 percent jump in police 911 calls and a 50 percent increase in fire calls. City firefighters on Tuesday responded to 1,800 fires, most of them minor.

Nearly a quarter-million people flocked to city beaches to beat the heat. The problem, according to Bloomberg, was many went home and then flicked their air conditioners on. While power demand usually decreases when the sun goes down, the opposite occurred in the city Tuesday night.

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(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)