Con Edison Expands Efforts to Protect the Public During Coronavirus Emergency

In its continuing effort to protect customers and employees from the coronavirus (COVID-19), Con Edison has halted all meter reading and installation of smart meters.

The decision builds on steps the company took previously to support public health and safety.

Con Edison is always ready to respond to every emergency. The energy company’s managers and crews are committed to keeping New York safe and the service reliable.

“Nothing is more important than health and safety,” said Tim Cawley, the president of Con Edison. “We want to protect everyone while providing the safe, reliable service our customers need. While many of our work activities have been put on hold, we are focusing on system infrastructure work that ensures safety and reliability.”

Con Edison will enter a customer’s home only for emergencies, safety-related inspections and customer-requested service connections and enhancements.

Con Edison employees who need to enter a home for one of these reasons will carry proper identification. Our workers are following U.S. Centers for Disease Control and New York State and City guidelines.

The workers will ask if anyone in the household is ill and discuss how they may carry out their tasks with everyone’s safety and comfort in mind. If you have an appointment with us, please let us know if you or anyone in your premises is quarantined by calling 1-800-75-CONED (1-800-752-6633). All company employees and contractors are advised to follow social distancing guidelines.

Other steps Con Edison has taken include:

• Stopping shutoffs of electric, natural gas or steam service due to non-payment resulting from the health crisis.
• Waiving new late-payment charges for all customers and suspending the fee charged to a customer who is unable to grant access to their property. We will continue to shut off service when there is a safety issue.
• Temporarily shutting down customer service walk-in centers in the five boroughs and Westchester County. Residential customers can choose one of the other convenient ways to pay their bill, including online at My Account, by mail with a check or money order, or by phone at 1-888-925-5016.
• Pausing energy efficiency service visits to homes and businesses in New York City and Westchester County.

Con Edison is also having administrative employees work from home, field personnel conduct pre-job briefings in smaller groups, and dividing workers into teams. The company instructs employees to follow the CDC guidelines, including hand washing and social distancing.

To get the most recent information about help Con Edison is providing to our customers visit coned.com/CovidHelp.

Con Edison is a subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc. [NYSE: ED], one of the nation’s largest investor-owned energy companies, with approximately $13 billion in annual revenues and $58 billion in assets. The utility delivers electricity, natural gas and steam to 3.5 million customers in New York City and Westchester County, N.Y.