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Be Storm Smart

  • Con Edison Media Relations

  • New York – August 21, 2019 -- 02:30 PM

Safety First: Stay Away from Downed Wires

Con Edison reminds the public to be storm smart and keep safety top of mind during summer’s frequent showers and thunderstorms like the ones forecast for the New York area today and tomorrow.

Summer storms may produce strong wind gusts, heavy rain, and lightning, causing trees and branches to fall onto power lines, disrupting service to customers.

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.

Con Edison is prepared to respond to any service problems. Crews will give priority to making repairs that will provide power to the most customers quickly, and then restore smaller groups and individual customers.

Con Edison offers the following storm smart tips to:

  • Do not go near downed wires. Treat all downed wires as if they are live. Never attempt to move them or touch them with your hands of any object. Be mindful that downed wires can be hidden from view by tree limbs, leaves or water.
  • Report all 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.
  • Check to make sure your flashlights and any battery-operated radios or televisions are in working order. Make sure you have a supply of extra batteries. Weather updates and news on restorations of electrical service can be heard on most local radio and television stations.
  • For more storm tips and preparation, go to www.conEd.com 

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

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

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