Con Edison Continues Making Restorations

Sixty hours after tropical storm Isaias struck, Con Edison crews are continuing to restore electricity to customers in New York City and Westchester County bringing the number of customers back in service to more than 217,000.

Con Edison has more than 1,650 of its own field workers on the job and is getting help from 819 mutual aid and contractor workers from as far away as Texas, Florida, Iowa and Wisconsin.  An additional 311 workers are scheduled to arrive by this weekend.

“We know how difficult living without power is. That’s why we’re working around the clock until all customers affected by the storm are safely back in service,” said Matthew Ketschke, senior vice president of Customer Energy Solutions. “Let’s remember to continue to make safety the highest priority and stay away from downed trees and wires until crews can remove them.” 

The work, repairing and in many cases rebuilding equipment damaged or destroyed during the storm, is taking place on the streets and in aerial buckets in the region’s neighborhoods.

Con Edison continues to work with municipalities to clear hundreds of roads blocked by fallen trees. Clearing roads is an essential first step to restoration, which also involves replacing poles, wires and transformers.

Con Edison plans to finish restoring power to the vast majority of those affected by Sunday night. Some smaller groups of customers will get service early next week.

Customers are urged to report their outage to and check 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).

Con Edison cautions everyone to stay away from downed wires. Do not assume they are de-energized. They may be live.

Customer outages as of 4:00 a.m. includes Brooklyn with 2,758 customers without service; Westchester County with 68,628 customer outages; Queens with 23,775 out of service; Staten Island with 13,168 customers without power; and 11,507 Bronx customers without service.

Con Edison sent text messages to 1.3 million customers in all its service areas except Manhattan, where the electric system is totally underground. The messages remind customers to be prepared and to report an outage by simply replying OUT to the text. Customers can sign up for text alerts at conEd.com/text.

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.

Con Edison personnel practice social distancing to keep everyone safe from the coronavirus. Con Edison is following the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

Con Edison offers the following storm tips:

• Do not go near downed wires. Treat downed wires as if they are live. Never 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 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.
• Make sure 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 New York City Emergency Management and the Westchester County Department of Emergency Services to coordinate storm response if needed.