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Christmas Day Restorations Continue; 26,000 Customers Back in Service

  • Con Edison Media Relations

  • New York – December 25, 2020 -- 04:00 PM

Con Edison crews are working to restore power to the remaining 9,900 customers who lost service when heavy rains and high winds with gusts up to 70 miles per hour passed through the New York region overnight and caused outages for more than 36,000 customers.

The powerful, gusting winds caused trees and branches to fall onto overhead delivery equipment.

A Con Edison truck parked near an area marked with emergency tape.

The Restoration Process

In the largest pre-storm mobilization in company history, Con Edison crews supplemented by more than 700 contract workers have restored service to about 26,000 customers already.

Many of our crews returned from family vacations to respond in support of our customers.

Crews give priority to restoring service lines that provide power to the most customers, then move on to restoring smaller groups and individual customers who are without power.

The company recommends that customers report their outages as soon as possible. Customers who report outages will receive updates from Con Edison with their estimated restoration times as they become available.

For the most up-to-date information on restoration times check the Con Edison outage map.

Mount Vernon, Bedford and Cortlandt are among the Westchester communities with the largest numbers of outages remaining. In the Bronx, Fordham and the northeast sections were most affected.

How to Report an Outage

Con Edison sent text messages to customers in the regions expected to be hit the hardest. 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 can also report outages and check service 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 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.

Safety

The company urges members of the public to stay away from downed power lines. Those lines could be live. For your safety, we may be guarding downed wires until crews make repairs. Our personnel may be in unmarked cars, but will always have identification.

Con Edison personnel continue to practice protocols 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 to help customers stay safe and weather the possible effects of a storm:

  • Do not go near downed electrical wires. Treat downed wires as if they are live. Never attempt to move them or touch them with any object. Be mindful that downed wires can be hidden from view by snow, 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.
  • Members of the public should also avoid transformers that are brought to the ground. The transformers are gray metal drums attached to the wires and poles.
  • 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.
  • Charge your cellphones and other devices while you have power.
  • Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for installing and using a portable generator. Never plug a generator into a wall unit, use it indoors or set it up outdoors near open home windows or air-handling vents.
  • Make sure your flashlights, radios and televisions are working. 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.

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