Utility Con Edison Sees Only Limited Power Outages Amid Blizzard

By Jennifer Smith

As of Monday, the snow from the blizzard bearing down on the northeastern U.S. was forecast to be light and fluffy in New York, which could help limit power outages, said Philip O'Brien, a spokesman for Consolidated Edison Inc.

High winds could still topple trees, bringing down elevated power lines. While the electrical system is underground throughout Manhattan, power lines are aboveground in nearly all of Westchester County, which is north of New York City; Staten Island; and in parts of Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, according to the utility, which supplies electricity to 3.3 million customers in New York City and Westchester County.

"If you see a downed wire, don't go anywhere near it, and call the police," Mr. O'Brien said.

Residents should have batteries on hand and make sure to have their devices charged, so they can notify the utility of any outages. If power does go out, disconnect appliances that would turn on automatically when service restored to prevent overloading electric circuits.

Customers can submit information online to http:www.conEd.com or by calling 1-800-752-6633. Text notifications are also available to customers who text REG to OUTAGE (688243).

Wednesday, which is forecast to be sunny, could bring fresh challenges for Con Edison. "The snow melts, and mixes with road salt, and that's tough underground," potentially damaging buried wiring, Mr. O'Brien said.

The utility has "all-hands-on-deck-14,000 employees," he said, and also has secured pledges of mutual aid from power companies and private contractors. "We have people committed from Chicago and from way upstate," Mr. O'Brien said.

Write to Jennifer Smith at [e-mail]

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