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Con Edison Continues Restoring Customers Affected by Historic Tropical Storm

  • Media Relations

  • New York – August 09, 2020 -- 08:00 PM

Con Edison is closing in on restoring New York City customers who lost service due to the devastation of Storm Isaias.

About 450 contractors joined the company’s restoration effort today, bringing the total number of workers on the job to 3,600, about 1,700 of whom are Con Edison employees.

Con Edison expects the vast majority of customers affected by the storm in each of the New York City boroughs to have service back by 11 tonight and the vast majority in Westchester to be restored by 11 p.m. Monday. The company will continue to work around the clock to restore the remaining customers.

“We empathize with our customers who have endured without power,” said Tim Cawley, the president of Con Edison. “We thank them for their patience as our crews complete this enormous job, which requires getting to thousands of sites to perform heavy, complex work like removing large trees and replacing poles and wires.”

A worker in a bucket truck repairs a utility pole.

The company reports about 27,500 customers currently without service due to the storm. They include about: 21,000 in Westchester County, 4,100 in Queens; 2,100 in the Bronx, fewer than 500 in Brooklyn and fewer than 100 in Staten Island.

Areas with significant numbers of customers remaining out include:

  • In Westchester County: Yonkers, New Rochelle, North Castle, New Castle, Mamaroneck and Cortlandt;
  • In Queens: Ozone Park;
  • In the Bronx, Riverdale, Kingsbridge, Allerton, and Baychester.

Con Edison has expanded its claims policy so that customers without power for 48 hours can fill out a claims form to request reimbursement for the cost of spoiled food, medication, or perishable commercial merchandise.

The company’s workers have distributed more than 15,000 bags of ice to customers who lost power across the territory, helping them avoid food spoilage during their outage.

Con Edison is making daily outbound calls to its most vulnerable customers – those who rely on emergency equipment for health reasons – to let them know they should take precautions.

The company continues to receive reports of downed wires and is sending crews to these locations. Con Edison cautions everyone to stay away from downed wires. Do not assume they are de-energized. They may be live.

Con Edison is also aware that some customers who have power may be experiencing phone or Internet problems. The company advises those customers to call their providers.

Customers are urged to report an outage 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).

Customers can sign up for text alerts at conEd.com/text. The messages remind customers to be prepared and to report an outage by simply replying OUT to the 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 safety tips in the aftermath of this storm:  

  • 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 tips, go to www.conEd.com 

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

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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