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Con Edison Restoring Customers Affected by Strong Winds

  • Con Edison Media Relations

  • New York – February 25, 2019 -- 09:00 AM

Public Reminded to Avoid Downed Wires, Report Outages

Con Edison crews have restored power to nearly 9,000 customers impacted overnight by strong winds blowing trees and other debris into electrical equipment. As of 8 a.m., the company was working to restore about 1,500 customers without power in the five boroughs and Westchester County.

Much of the restoration work has been accomplished through remote switching, but an army of about 470 power line personnel, including over 200 contractors and mutual aid workers, will be working to restore customers throughout the day. Extremely dangerous wind gusts may delay or impede restoration work if workers are unable to work safely in bucket trucks.

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

As of 8 a.m., about 370 power outages were reported in Westchester County, about 660 in Queens, 95 outages in Staten Island and fewer than 20 in the Bronx, Manhattan and Brooklyn.

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.

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