Con Edison Prepares for High Winds

Con Edison is preparing for heavy winds forecasted to hit the area Sunday and Monday and has secured extra crews to respond to any outages or other service problems.

Strong winds could knock trees into overhead power lines. Also, residual road salt could infiltrate manholes, possibly causing outages.

Con Edison urges customers to stay safe. Stay away from downed wires.

Con Edison urges customers to sign up for text notifications at conEd.com/text by texting REG to OUTAGE (688243), and following 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.

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.

Crews will give priority to restoring service lines that will provide power to the most customers quickly, then restore smaller groups and individual customers who are without power.

Con Edison offers the following storm tips:

• If you see downed electrical wires, do not go near them because they could be live. Never attempt to move them or touch them with your hands or any object. Be mindful that downed wires can be hidden from view by 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 televisions or battery-operated radios 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 and preparation, or to view the company’s online outage map, go to Con Edison storm safety.
• Customers can visit Con Edison’s website for information on how to prepare for a possible power outage, step-by-step instructions for dealing with a power outage, to see how we respond to outages and more.

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