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Con Edison Media Relations
For Immediate Release: July 28, 2006
3:45 p.m.

CON EDISON URGES CUSTOMERS TO CONSERVE ENERGY AS HEAT WAVE APPROACHES

NEW YORK – As an extended heat wave and thunderstorms are forecast over the next week, Con Edison urges all customers to conserve energy.

The company continues to ask residents in northwest Queens to limit their energy usage as much as possible while crews reinforce the system that experienced power outages last week.

To assist our customers in northwest Queens, Con Edison also is expediting the processing of claim forms for spoilage. Claim forms are available from our customer outreach representatives at the Commerce Bank, 31-04 Ditmars Blvd., the Sunnyside Community Center, 43-31 39th St., and the Long Island City YMCA at 32-23 Queens Boulevard, or by calling our claims department at 1-800-752-6633. Printable claims forms are also available our Web site at www.Coned.com/csol.

In addition, crews will begin to transfer some customers in the affected areas from generators back to the Con Edison system. During this time, customers may experience a temporary disruption in service lasting approximately 20 minutes.

To conserve energy, the company recommends that customers take the following steps:

Turn off air conditioners, lights and other appliances when not at home and use a timer to turn on your air conditioner about a half-hour before arriving home;
Make sure air conditioner filters are clean so the machines will run at peak efficiency;
Set thermostats no lower than 78 degrees. Each degree lower increases cooling costs by 6 percent;
If you have a room air-conditioning unit, close off the rooms not being used; if you have central air, block the vents in un-used or vacant rooms;
To reduce heat and moisture in your apartment or home, run appliances such as ovens, washing machines, dryers and dishwashers in the early morning or late at night when it’s generally cooler outside. Use a microwave to cook, or barbecue outside, if possible;
Keep shades, blinds and curtains closed. About 40 percent of unwanted heat comes through windows. Simply drawing blinds and curtains, which act as a layer of insulation, can reduce heat in your apartment or home, and
Try using fans instead of air conditioners, but be sure to leave your windows open for ventilation. Fans use as little as one-tenth the energy as air conditioners.

Electric supplies are sufficient to meet the projected demand for electricity this week, and company crews are ready to respond to any power outage that may occur. If any customers do experience an outage, they should:

Contact the company by calling the 24-hour, toll-free number at 1-800-75-CONED.
Have your home telephone number and home address readily available.
Know that the Con Edison workforce will work around the clock to quickly restore power.

For more energy savings tips and general information, customers can visit the Con Edison website at www.coned.com or contact the company at 1-800-75-CONED. To learn more about Con Edison’s free programmable thermostat, call 1-866-521-8600 or visit www.coned.com/cool.

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