Demand For Power Reaches New 2020 High

Con Edison customers today set a 2020 high for demand for power.

The company provided 11,814 megawatts at 3 p.m. to customers in New York City and Westchester County, N.Y. Before today, the high for the year was 11,730 megawatts at 3 p.m. on July 20. The all-time record of 13,322 megawatts was set at 5 p.m. on July 19, 2013

Con Edison crews continue performing arduous work under trying, sweltering conditions to keep power flowing for the company’s 3.5 million customers. Working safely in the still air of a manhole or in a bucket high above street level in the heat and humidity that has enveloped the region the last two weeks requires intense focus.

This summer brings the added challenge of staying safe during the coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic has caused overall power demand to decline. But the need for power in certain residential neighborhoods has increased due to more people at home.

Customers can report 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. Stay on top of outages and power problems by signing up for text notifications or by viewing the company’s interactive online outage map. To sign up for text alerts, go to conEd.com/text.

Con Edison offers energy savings tips, including:

• Make sure air conditioner filters are clean so the units will run at peak efficiency
• Set thermostats to the highest comfortable temperature
• If you have a room air-conditioning unit, close off the rooms not being used; if you have central air, block the vents in unused or vacant rooms
• To reduce heat and moisture in your home, run appliances such as ovens, washing machines, dryers and dishwashers in the early morning or late at night when it’s cooler outside. Use a microwave to cook, if possible
• Keep shades, blinds and curtains closed to reduce heat in your home. About 40 percent of unwanted heat comes through windows

To make it easier to report outages, Con Edison sent more than 1.7 million customers a text and heat alert to let them know they can report an outage by simply replying OUT. Customers can also report outages and check service restoration status at conEd.com/reportoutage, or with Con Edison’s mobile app for iOS or Android devices, or by calling 1-800-75-CONED (1-800-752-6633). 

Customers who report outages will receive updates from Con Edison with their estimated restoration times. Information on outages and restoration times is also available at the Con Edison outage map.

New Yorkers can use the NYC Cooling Center Finder to locate cooling centers and learn ways to find relief from the heat.