FLASH! LATIMER DEMANDS PRESIDENTS, MANAGERS OF CON ED AND NYSEG RESIGN. CALLS TOWN MEETING OF LEGISLATORS, NY DELEGATION, “HEAVIES” IN COUNTY CENTER FRIDAY 10:30 AM FOR “SHOW OF SOLIDARITY”
WPCNR THE POWER NEWS. From the Westchester County Department of Communications. March 7, 2018, 2:35 PM UPDATED 4:05 PM with link to Phone Call Actuality:
After a conference call (shown above), with Westchester municipal leaders, legislators, a furious Westchester County Executive George Latimer this afternoon has written politicians, leaders, and public officials to invite them to a Rally in Westchester County Center to demand NYSEG and Con Edison Presidents resign and their management be replaced.
To hear and see, the County Executive’s message to county officials on this conference call go to this link: the message last 1:01 but to the point (copy this link and put it in your browse and hit “GO” and fasten your seatbelt:
https://www.facebook.com/westchestergov/videos/10156041257002092/
The reason Mr. Latimer gives the way Con Ed and NYSEG have managed and communicated and planned the recovery from the Westchester Power Crisis over the the last 5 days that still leaves 9,911 Westchester Customers without power.
The outages were caused by “Tropical Storm Riley”last Friday. The top windgusts in that “Tropical Storm” were measured 1 mile shy (72 MPH) of being a Category 1 hurricane, as measured by Westchester County Airport.
Here is the copy of the County Executive’s letter released at 2:35 this afternoon:
Dear New York State Delegation, Municipal Officials and Westchester County Board of Legislators,
In light of the inadequate and troubled response by ConEdison and NYSEG to restore tens of thousands of Westchester Customers after Winter Storm Reilly, I invite you to join me to call for the Presidents of both companies to step down.
Both ConEdison and NYSEG have fumbled the recovering effort and we as County residents can no longer stand by and accept this.
Along with both Presidents stepping down, I would also like a clean sweep of senior management, and I want a new philosophy adopted.
I listened to enough, and we have put up with enough. We are all tired of ConEdison and NYSEG’s excuses. There are human beings out there – and we are given statistics instead of real world services.
Please join me on Friday, March 9, 2018 at 10:30a.m. at the Westchester County Center in White Plains for a statement of solidarity.
Thank you,
George Latimer
Westchester County Executive
The Miracle is True: Con Ed Confirms 9,500 Westchester Customers Restored to Power as Crews Worked Through Night. Says Numbers on Customers Out May Lag on the Website
CON EDISON CREW WORKING BRYANT AVENUE OUTAGE 10 30 AM THIS MORNING
WPCNR THE POWER NEWS From Con Edison Media Relations. March 7, 2018:
Allen Drury of Con Edison in an email to WPCNR, confirmed the feat of restoring 9,000 Westchester Customers from 10 PM last night to early this morning accomplished by Con Edison Crews teaming with crews from Texas, Canada and Wisconsin working together in worsening conditions through the night.
Drurt furnished a Con Ed press release to WPCNR, released at 9:15 A.M. It is not known whether this release was known by the County Executive George Latimer had his briefing at 9:30 this morning:
“Con Edison crews worked through another winter night restoring electrical service to customers affected by last week’s storm, as a second storm hits the New York area.
The company’s crews, buttressed by hundreds of mutual aid workers from out of state, reduced the number of Westchester County customers out to approximately 9,500 out of about 100,000 affected.
Con Edison advises that it is working to repair technical issues with the automated outage map on its website. The map may display numbers that are outdated.
(WPCNR Editor’s Note Update: Current Automated Outage Map and listing of all Towns still reports as of the 11 A.M. Hour 18,913 Westchester Customers without power. The Press Release says this is an error. It is not apparent how long the Outage Map and subsequent list has been inaccurate. Automated site still as of 12:35 PM says 18,549 Westchester Customers are out. )
The field forces will continue to work to restore customers in Westchester, as well as scattered outages in New York City, as long as the weather allows. The company conducts restoration in a way that is safe for its workers and the public.
The vast majority of customers in Westchester affected by last week’s storm have been restored. The remaining customers, typically those outages affecting one or two customers, are expected to be restored by 11 p.m. on Friday, March 9.
Con Edison will keep many mutual aid workers already on the job in Westchester County to work on any outages caused by a second Nor’easter, Storm Quinn, which has begun dropping a rain-snow mix in the area.
The coming snow could bring tree branches into contact with overhead power lines and cause additional outages. The mix of melting snow and road salt can get into the underground electrical delivery system and cause equipment problems and customer outages.
Heavy, wet snow may hide downed power lines and people should venture outside with extreme caution.
Con Edison reminds members of the public to stay away from downed wires because they may be live.
In Westchester County, the company has more than 1,900 people involved in restoring power, line repair, site safety and planning, including 500 mutual aid workers, who are from as far away as Canada, Texas and Wisconsin.
The company is in touch with elected and school officials in Westchester for input on areas that should be given priority. Crews first focus on repairs that provide power to the most customers and to critical facilities, such as hospitals, municipal pumping stations and schools. Then they move on and make repairs to restore smaller groups and individual customers.
(To see an animation of how a restoration takes place, go to: http://bit.ly/2lnHaWB)
Customers can report downed power lines, outages and check service restoration status at www.conEd.com or by calling 1-800-75-CONED (1-800-752-6633). When reporting an outage, customers should have their Con Edison account number available, if possible, and report whether their neighbors also have lost power.
Customers who report outages will be called by Con Edison with their estimated restoration times as they become available.
Con Edison offers a number of mobile solutions so you can manage your accounts, report and check the status of an outage, learn energy-saving tips, and more. Text REG to OUTAGE (688243) to sign up for text notifications, and follow the prompts. You will need to enter your Con Edison account number to complete the registration process. Once you’ve registered, you will not need your account number to report or check the status of a power problem. Or visit us here to stay on top of outages and power problems by signing up for text notifications.
Con Edison offers the following storm tips:
- Do not go near downed wires because they could be 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 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 your flashlights and any battery-operated radios or televisions are working. Have a supply of extra batteries. Weather updates and news on electrical service can be heard on local radio and television stations.
- For more storm tips, go to Con Edison storm safety.
Customers can follow Con Edison on Twitter or like us on Facebook for general outage updates, safety tips and storm preparation information.
United Crews Miracle. Latimer: Con Ed Restores 9,002 Westchester Customers Overnight. County will Verify this with Con Ed this morning.
County Executive George Latimer arriving for his Media Briefing on the Westchester power crisis this morning.
WPCNR THE POWER STORY. By John F. Bailey. March 7, 2018:
County Executive George Latimer said Con Ed reports the number of Westchester Customers (defined as customers with one electric meter) without power is 9,911 as of 9:30 A.M. this morning. He also said NYSEG the other supplier to the northeast of the county had cut their Customers without power to 1,516, from approximately 15,000 Monday afternoon.
You can see the morning briefing at this link: Paste it in your browser and hit “Go”:
https://www.facebook.com/westchestergov/videos/10156040795932092/
As of 11 A.M. the Con Edison official listing town by town at their Con Storm Center that updates every 15 minutes continues to show Westchester Outages of 18,913.
Mr. Latimer said he would be attempting to very the new impressive restorations overnight with Con Ed and NYSEG officials at the Emergency Operations Center in Hawthorne later this morning.
WPCNR called the Con Edison Media Center to ask if there was a lag between when restored Westchester Customers were added (reported every 15 minutes).
The press person after hearing my question asked me to put that question in an email and send it to another party who would answer my question.
So at this point apparently the listing appearing last night at 10 PM…apparently has not been changed.
Latimer told WPCNR at the close of his briefing today that when he went to bed at 2:15 A.M., the Con Edison listing (which they introduced Monday), was showing 19,000 customers out, and he was amazed that the number this morning had been reduced 50%.
That is not unreasonable. If Con Ed crews worked all night (and they might have), the County Executive said he had seen crews when he was out after midnight, but he could not say for sure whether Con Ed crews had worked all night.
Yesterday Con Ed crews reduced Westchester Customers from 27,000 Out of Power to approximately 18,000 in 8 hours, a rate of 1,000 restorations an hour. So if the crews worked the night as the Con Ed person told WPCNR they would if weather permitted, they could restore 9,000 by 9:30 A.M.
We await clarification from the Con Ed press office.