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220 Roads Blocked in Westchester County at 5 PM. Con Edison Answers Questions Raised by Yorktown Media Briefing

Posted on March 8, 2018 by John Bailey

WPCNR THE POWER STORY. Response from Con Edison Media Relations. 3:20 P.M. E.S.T. March 8, 2018 UPDATED 5:11 P.M. EST:

This just in: from Con Ed Media relations. At 5 PM, Con Edison’s Allen Drury reports 220 roads are blocked in Westchester County.

WPCNR contacted Con Edison Media Relations about questions raised at the Yorktown Media Briefing conducted by County Executive George Latimer this morning and he sent these answers earlier this afternoon to WPCNR

Here are the answers to WPCNR’s questions

WPCNR: At the Yorktown Police Department briefing held by C.E. Latimer, Mayor of Yorktown,Senator Murphy, Mr. Latimer was unclear as to whether Con Ed is now providing and verifying Customers Out of Power with the Police Department (s) in Yorktown–and surrounding north county communites. Are you sharing real time numbers now with the police departments? This was a big criticism leveled in the briefing this morning?

ALLEN DRURY, CON EDISON MEDIA RELATIONS: We provide outage numbers in near real time via our publicly available outage map. The map contained some outdated numbers for a time this week but that is rare.

It is usually accurate and updates every 15 minutes.

During emergencies like this one, we hold regular calls with municipal officials in which we provide updates on progress and any other information that is requested, including outage numbers.

We have numerous other contacts with municipal officials outside of those calls during emergencies.

WPCNR: When you dispatch crews to repower in view of the significant new outages…do you give each crew a series of assignments geographically close together ? Are you doing that now?

Mr. Drury: Yes. Crews are deployed strategically and the locations of areas where repairs are needed is a factor in that deployment. This is for the reason you mentioned. (See additional information in answer 4.)

WPCNR: Does Con Edison have a statement on Mr. Latimer’s call for the top level management to step down and managers be replaced do to the communication deficiencies many are alleging yesterday and today?

Mr. Drury: We are focusing on the restoration of customers from the two storms. We understand customers’ frustration with not having power. Living without power for a short time is difficult. Living without power for days is nearly unbearable.

We want customers to have power as badly as they want to have it. That is why we are working 24/7 to get customers back into service. Most of our workers live in the communities we serve, so our customers are our relatives, friends and neighbors. In fact, many of our crew members who are working long hours doing dangerous, arduous work go home at the end of their shifts to homes without power.

WPCNR: Mr. Latimer alleged that Con Ed could have managed restorations better by direct communication with the police departments, instead of just making decisions on greatest numbers out. Do you have a comment on that?

Mr. Drury: During outages, utilities, including Con Edison, prioritize repairs that will bring the largest number of customers back the fastest. In addition (as mentioned in a previous answer) we consider the locations of areas where repairs are needed so that crews maximize time spent making repairs, not driving long distances from job to job. We also give priority to critical customers, such as police and fire stations, hospitals, municipal water treatment plants, etc.

WPCNR: Is Con Ed adopting a new strategy with the tripling of the Customer Out numbers in Westchester?

Mr. Drury: We are prioritizing the restoration of customers who lost service in the first storm, last Friday. No question, yesterday’s storm affects restoration.

It was incredibly destructive in Westchester. More than 100 ( Updated to 220 as of 5 P.M.) additional roads were blocked by fallen trees and debris. The storm forced us to take crews off the road for a period, as we had to sharply curtail work during the storm.

We were able to restore service to all but 6,500 of the approximately 140,000 customers affected by the first storm.

Yesterday’s storm affects restoration and caused the numbers to rise again.

WPCNR: Is there a statement from the top management of Con Ed on the criticism of restoration strategy leveled the last two days, today and yesterday?

Mr. Drury, Con Edison: We are focused on the restoration. Once the restoration is complete, we will examine all aspects of the restoration and look for areas to improve.

FLASH! WESTCHESTER CUSTOMERS OUT SOAR TO 48,000 COMPLETE VIDEO OF LATIMER YORKTOWN BRIEFING THIS MORNING RIGHT NOW.

Posted on March 8, 2018 by John Bailey

County Executive George Latimer (left) with State Senator Terrence Murphy at the Briefing in Yorktown this morning.
WPCNR THE POWER STORY. March 8, 2018:

County Executive George Latimer conducted an hour Media briefing this morning at Yorktown Police Headquarters, reporting there are 29,653 Westchester Con Edison Customers without power and 18,059 NEW YORK STATE ELECTRIC AND GAS customers out of power, 47, 712 in total.

You can see the complete media briefing at this link below. Thanks to the Westchester County Department of Communications for this timely expedited link up CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW or Copy and put it in your browser and press “Go”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf0_4KmkoRk&feature=youtu.be

No information was given as to what Con Ed and NYSEG are proceeding ahead to address the power crisis. Mr. Latimer praised the Con Ed workers doing the dangerous work but repeated his criticism of yesterday saying Top Con Ed management needed to be replaced for the way Westchester’s greatest power crisis has been handled. He said the utilities have to be accountable now, not when hearings on the recovery efficiency and decisions are held months from now.

The Yorktown Police Chief Noble cautioned motorists not to touch guardrails if they are stuck, because you could be electrocuted if downed live wires are draped across the guardrail and you do not know it.

The Disaster Coordinator from New York State, Cathy Calhoun said there were 155,000 Customers without power across New York State after the yesterday’s storm subsided. As of noon yesterday, there were 29,000. She said National Guard units have helped clear trees and debris, perform wellness checks and helped out wherever police and local officials suggested. She reiterated that Governor Cuomo has promised a full investigation of the Con Ed, NYSEG performance. Previously, Governor Cuom called the untility performance “absurd.”

The Town Supervisor of Yorktown, Ilan Gilbert, above praised his police department and EMS workers for their tireless efforts pleaded with Consolidated Edison to “tell us the truth,” about areas and town areas out of power and to work with police departments. WPCNR Asked if as of this morning, whether Con Edison and NYSEG was now doing this, Golbert told WPCNR they were not.

He sharply criticised Con Ed and NYSEG for not cooperating with the police and using police expertise and knowledge of what areas out of power in Yorktown needed to be service first, giving the impression that Con Ed was not strategically working with areas without power in Yorktown.

Mr. Latimer went into detail on what he thought was wrong with the way Con Ed makes management decisions saying they are the ones who have to shut off power before crews can get to work clearing the trees tangled in downed power wires, and that the utilities had to work with officials of the areas they are attempting to restore in a more open manner and make decisions with the communities and get on the same page.

The Coordinator for New York State said the state national guard forces of some 100 personnel, soon to be four hundred, she said had aided in clearing trees and debris and wellness checks around the County.

Here is the video of that news conference on this link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf0_4KmkoRk&feature=youtu.be

CON EDISON: SNOW STORM DOES SERIOUS TREE DAMAGE OVERNIGHT: WESTCHESTER CUSTOMERS WITHOUT POWER TRIPLES.

Posted on March 8, 2018 by John Bailey

WPCNR THE POWER STORY. From Con Edison Media Relations. March 8, 1018 9:05 A.M.

Allen Drury of Con Edison media relations just reported these conditions to WPCNR:

WC outages: about 25,700

– Yes, yesterday’s conditions forced us to sharply curtail restoration. This, of course, was for safety reasons.

– Yesterday’s storm caused extensive tree damage. This was the cause of the outage numbers shooting back up. Dozens of new road closures”

The Nightmare Continues: County Executive Latimer: Con Ed Westchester Customers Out of Power Triples Overnight. No info on Con Ed Storm Center on Customers Without Power

Posted on March 8, 2018 by John Bailey

WPCNR THE POWER STORY. Overnight Observation by County Executive George Latimer on Facebook. March 8, 2018 8:30 A.M.

County Executive George Latimer was on the move last night in the northern part of Westchester County. This morning he filed this observation on the county Facebook page:
“Con Ed – 33,108 (Westchester Customers Out of Power)
NYSEG – 15,227

Drove around 5 towns tonight – saw some new outages, streets closed, trees down. Given the circumstances, not surprised that no work was underway.

The reports are very bad up north where they were hurt badly last Friday … but no one was unscathed. The nightmare goes on for another day more.”

The Westchester County Department of Communications announced that County Executive Latimer would hold a Morning Briefing at the Yorktown Police Department at 10:30 A.M. this morning.

The Con Edison Media Relations Office contacted by WPCNR, when asked for the number of Westchester Customers out, asked WPCNR to send an e-mail with the question.

As of 8:30 A.M. the Con Ed Storm Center listing of Customers without power does not come up.

The listing was reported by Con Ed to be malfunctioning yesterday, after being 9,000 behind the restoration of power count yesterday morning.

Mr. Latimer’s report of 33,108 within the 8 AM to 9 AM Hour, means that the number of Westchester Customers as gone up 23,197 over the course of the snowstorm, virtually tripling. The NYSEG number Mr. Latimer has put out this morning, has gone from 1,500 yesterday morning to 15,000.