Con Edison Progresses In Riley Restoration, While Preparing For Second Weather Wallop

Con Edison’s restoration of customers who lost service due to Storm Riley crossed the 100,000 mark today, as an army of 1,000 workers continued the laborious task of replacing wiring felled by trees.

Crews have now restored service to 100,300 of the approximately 140,000 customers affected by the storm. In Westchester County – the hardest-hit area – crews have gotten 66,000 customers back in service, leaving 37,000 customers to restore. 

Con Edison crews, along with mutual aid partners from other utilities, were working today on restorations involving 17,000 customers expected to be completed later tonight.

While making progress in the restoration, Con Edison is preparing for the snow forecast to hit the New York area Tuesday and Wednesday. Heavy wet snow could bring tree branches into contact with overhead electrical wires, causing more outages.

Con Edison will retain many mutual aid workers already on the job in Westchester County and has been contacting out-of-state utilities for additional crews.

The company expects to complete restoration to the vast majority of Westchester customers affected by Riley by late Tuesday night. Westchester customers can see information on restoration in their community here.

Con Edison has almost 1,000 people involved in restoration, line repair, site safety and planning, including 400 mutual aid workers, who are from as far away as Canada, Texas and Wisconsin.

Con Edison reminds members of the public to stay away from downed wires because they may be live.

The company is in touch with elected and school officials in Westchester for input on areas that should be given priority. Crews first focus on repairs that provide power to the most customers and to critical facilities, such as hospitals, municipal pumping stations and schools. Then they move on and make repairs to restore smaller groups and individual customers.

Customers can report downed power lines, outages and check service restoration status at www.conEd.com or by calling 1-800-75-CONED (1-800-752-6633). When reporting an outage, customers should have their Con Edison account number available, if possible, and report whether their neighbors also have lost power.

Customers who report outages will be called by Con Edison with their estimated restoration times as they become available.

Con Edison offers a number of mobile solutions so you can manage your accounts, report and check the status of an outage, learn energy-saving tips, and more. Text REG to OUTAGE (688243) to sign up for text notifications, and follow the prompts. You will need to enter your Con Edison account number to complete the registration process. Once you've registered, you will not need your account number to report or check the status of a power problem. Or visit us here to stay on top of outages and power problems by signing up for text notifications.

Con Edison offers the following storm tips:

• Do not go near downed wires because they could be live. Never attempt to move them or touch them with any object. Be mindful that downed wires can be hidden from view by snow, tree limbs, leaves or water.
• Report downed wires to Con Edison and your local police department immediately. If a power line falls on your car while you’re in it, stay inside the vehicle and wait for emergency personnel.
• If your power goes out, disconnect or turn off appliances that would otherwise turn on automatically when service is restored. If several appliances start up at once, the electric circuits may overload.
• Make sure your flashlights and any battery-operated radios or televisions are working. Have a supply of extra batteries. Weather updates and news on electrical service can be heard on local radio and television stations.
• For more storm tips, go to Con Edison storm safety.

Customers can follow Con Edison on Twitter or like us on Facebook for general outage updates, safety tips and storm preparation information.