Con Edison Mobilizes Emergency Forces For Nor’easter
Company Warns Public to Stay Away From Downed Power Lines; More Than 1,000 Additional Contractor Workers Brought in to Help Field Crews
Con Edison’s emergency response team and an additional 1,000 contractor workers are ready to repair damage and restore outages from the major nor’easter blanketing the region.
Gusty winds and heavy snow are expected through tomorrow, dumping 16 to 24 inches of snow across the city and Westchester County, with precipitation becoming wetter and heavier overnight, before diminishing and scattering by Tuesday morning.
Strong winds and heavier snow could bring down tree branches on power lines, causing safety hazards and outages. Road salt mixing with melting snow also can damage underground electrical wiring, possibly leading to outages.
Con Edison urges everyone to stay away from all downed lines. Those lines could be live. Con Edison also may station site safety personnel near downed wires, sometimes in unmarked vehicles, to protect the public.
Gusting winds and precipitation also bring the possibility of flooding in coastal areas during high tides.
How restoration works
Once it is safe to assess storm damage and begin service restoration, crews will begin with public safety, clearing away any downed power lines, with the goal of restoring critical and emergency service facilities first.
Crews will then give priority to restoring service lines that will provide power to the most customers as quickly as possible, before moving on to restore smaller groups and individual customers who are without power.
More than 1,000 contractor workers have been brought in to help with any necessary repair and restoration work, and the company continues to bring in additional assistance.
How to report an outage
Customers are urged to report an outage by replying OUT to Con Edison’s pre-storm text message.
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 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.
Important safety tips
Con Edison offers the following storm tips to customers to help weather the possible effects of a storm:
- Do not go near downed electrical wires. Treat all 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
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 during the health emergency.
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.