New York City Transit officials reportedly pressured staff members to expand the number of subway delays that could be attributed to Con Edison power issues in advance of a public event where Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo placed responsibility on the utility company to improve subway reliability.

The inflated numbers were reported in The Daily News, which obtained internal emails between Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials and Mr. Cuomo’s press office from July 25 to Aug. 9. The emails reportedly show that transit officials broadened the definition of power-related delays to include circuit failures and other incidents, like when a person was on the track and the power was intentionally shut off. The New York Times has not seen the emails, but transit officials have not disputed their authenticity.

Under the broader definition, Mr. Cuomo, during the Association for a Better New York breakfast on July 27, was able to say there had been 32,000 power-related delays in the previous 12 months. The actual number was closer to 8,000, The Daily News reported.

“The M.T.A. doesn’t control the power, Con Edison does,” Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, said at the breakfast. “Con Edison has a duty to safely, prudently and effectively provide electricity that powers the subway system.”