Con Edison Prepares for Storm, Urges Safety Precautions

Con Edison crews are preparing to respond to any outages that occur due to the severe rain and windstorms expected to hit New York City and Westchester County.

Strong winds can push trees and branches into overhead power lines and bring those lines down, causing customers to lose service and blocking roads.

The company urges members of the public to stay away from downed wires. They may be live. For your safety, we may guard downed wires until crews make repairs.

Restoration Plan

The priority for restoration will be critical customer facilities that have an impact on the public, such as mass transit, hospitals, police and fire stations, and sewage and water-pumping stations.

Crews will then prioritize repairs that will provide power to the largest numbers of customers as quickly as possible, then move on to restore smaller groups and individual customers

How to Report an Outage

Customers can also report outages and check service restoration status at conEd.com/reportoutage, with Con Edison’s mobile app for iOS or Android devices, or by calling 1-800-75-CONED (1-800-752-6633). When reporting an outage, have your Con Edison account number available, if possible.

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 Tips

Con Edison offers the following storm tips to customers to help weather the possible effects of a storm:

• Do not go near downed wires. Treat all downed wires as if they are live. Never attempt to move them or 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.
• Members of the public also should avoid transformers that are brought to the ground. The transformers are gray metal drums attached to the wires and poles.
• 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.
• 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 your flashlights and any battery-operated radios 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.
• Charge your cellphones and other mobile devices while you still have power.
• For more storm tips and preparation, go to www.conEd.com 

Customers can follow Con Edison on X (formerly known as Twitter) or like us on Facebook for general outage updates, safety tips and storm preparation information.

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.