Con Edison Crews Restoring Service After More Heavy Winds

Con Edison crews have restored electric service to nearly 13,000 customers since rain and heavy winds hit the region last night and are continuing their work as New Yorkers prepare for Christmas Day.

Winds picked up again this afternoon, causing more customers to lose power. Workers in the field are replacing poles, wires and other equipment to provide service to 1,700 customers who are still out.

Con Edison expects 95 percent of the customers affected by the weather in the last 24 hours to be restored by late tonight.

Strong winds knock trees and branches onto equipment, causing customers to lose service. Con Edison has enlisted more than 700 outside workers to supplement its own crews in getting customers back in service.

Con Edison urges members of the public to stay away from downed wires, as they may be live. For your safety, Con Edison workers may guard downed wires until crews make repairs. Company personnel may be in unmarked cars but have Con Edison identification.

If you see downed wires, report them to your local police department or Con Edison by calling 1-800-75-CONED. Do not touch downed wires with your hands or any object.

Most of the outages have been in Westchester County, where crews have restored 8,500 customers and are working to restore an additional 1,200. The number of outages in Westchester topped 6,200 at about 6 a.m.

In New York City, Queens has been the borough with the largest number of outages. Crews have restored service to nearly 2,300 customers in the borough and are working to restore 300 who remain out of service.

How to Report an Outage

Customers can 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).

When reporting an outage, have your Con Edison account number available, if possible. 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.

Restoration Plan

The priority for restoration is 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 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.

Safety Tips

• If you see downed electrical wires, do not go near them. Report them to Con Edison or 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 snow, 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.
• Exercise extreme caution when entering flooded basements. Water that comes into contact with energized electrical equipment can create dangerous conditions and cause serious injury.
• 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. For more tips on storm preparation, go to www.conEd.com. 

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