Con Edison Restores Power to 8,200 Customers Affected by Tropical Storm Ida

Con Edison crews have restored service to approximately 8,265 customers who lost power overnight as the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida swept through the region.

The company is working to restore power to the 21,096 customers who remain without service, including 17,045 in Westchester. Restoration work remains hindered by floodwaters.

Con Edison has secured approximately 500 outside contractors that will assist company crews in the restoration efforts.

Torrential rainfall and powerful, gusting winds caused trees and branches to fall onto overhead delivery equipment, resulting in customer outages.

The Village of Mamaroneck, Rye, Yonkers, Greenburgh, New Rochelle and North Castle are among the hardest hit areas in Westchester.

In New York City, among the hardest hit neighborhoods are the Pelham Gardens and Laconia areas of the Bronx. In Brooklyn, the neighborhood of Prospect Heights is among the most affected.

Severe flooding has created dangerous conditions throughout the service territory. Restoration of service due to flooding in the underground electric-delivery system involves several steps. Those steps include pumping water out of a facility, drying the equipment, testing the equipment, addressing any environmental concerns, and making sure the equipment can operate safely and reliably.

Con Edison continues to ask customers to report outages. To make reporting easier, yesterday Con Edison sent 1.7 million customers a text message to enable them to report their outage by replying OUT to the message.

The company urges members of the public to stay away from downed wires. They may be live. For your safety, we may guard downed wires until crews make repairs. Our personnel may be in unmarked cars but will always have Con Edison identification.

Restoration Plan

The priority for restoration will be critical customer facilities that have an impact on the public, such as mass transit, hospitals, police and fire stations, and sewage and water-pumping stations. Crews will then prioritize repairs that will provide power to the largest numbers of customers as quickly as possible, then move on to restore smaller groups and individual customers.

How to Report an Outage

Customers can sign up for text alerts at coned.com/text. 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 as they become available. Information on outages and restoration times is also available at the Con Edison outage map.

Safety Tips

• If you see downed electrical wires, do not go near them. Report them to Con Edison and your local police department immediately.
• Treat all downed wires as if they are 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.
• Members of the public also should avoid transformers that are brought to the ground. The transformers are gray metal drums attached to the wires and poles.
• Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for installing and using a portable generator. Never plug a generator into a wall unit, use it indoors, or set it up outdoors near open home windows or air-handling vents. 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.
• Charge your cellphones and other mobile devices while you have power.
• Check to make sure your flashlights and any battery-operated radios are in working order. Make sure you have a supply of extra batteries.

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

The company is in contact with New York City Emergency Management and the Westchester County Department of Emergency Services to coordinate storm response if needed.