Con Edison Prepared for Winds, Snow; Company Urges Public to Be Safe

Con Edison crews are prepared to handle any service outages caused by the gusting winds and snow expected to hit the region.

Con Edison urges customers to stay away from downed wires. Do not try to touch or move them. Call Con Edison and/or your local police if you see downed wires.

The combination of wind gusts – which forecasters say will be at their strongest tonight and into Monday – and snow could bring trees and branches down on overhead lines, causing outages. Then a mixture of road salt and melting snow could wash into manholes, possibly causing outages.

Customers should report outages and check service restoration status at www.conEd.com/reportoutage, or with our mobile app for iOS or Android devices, or by calling 1-800-75-CONED (1-800-752-6633). When calling, customers should report whether their neighbors also have lost power. Customers who report outages will receive updates with their estimated restoration times as they become available

Customers who report outages will receive updates with their estimated restoration times as they become available.

Crews will prioritize restoring 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 by tree limbs, leaves or water.
• 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, and 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.