Forum Photo by Michael V. Cusenza
According to Acting Borough President Sharon Lee, seven nights after the storm, over 3,000 Con Edison customers in Queens—as well as everyone else residing in those households—still remain powerless and in the dark amidst relentless heat and humidity.
By Michael V. Cusenza
Dozens of borough elected officials and community board leaders representing some of the most heavily and extensively impacted areas of Queens on Tuesday collectively blasted Con Edison’s disastrous management of power restoration in the county that rendered more than 73,000 of its customers without power in the wake of Tropical Storm Isaias that smacked Queens last Tuesday.
According to Acting Borough President Sharon Lee, seven nights after the storm, over 3,000 Con Edison customers in Queens—as well as everyone else residing in those households—still remain powerless and in the dark amidst relentless heat and humidity.
Officials slammed Con Edison’s disproportionate pace and inequitable power restoration for Queens relative to the rest of New York City. Some noted the compounded effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Queens, citing residents feeling “trapped” by downed and hazardous wires left in the sidewalks and roads or suspended midair blocking home entrances and driveways for days on end. Officials also noted Con Edison’s rate hikes in recent years including 13.5 percent increase in residential electricity rates over three years, approved in January 2020, as well as past precedent for direct remedy to the company’s customers.
Forum Photo by Michael V. Cusenza
By Saturday, August 8, nearly 100 hours after the storm, Con Edison finally broke the 80 percent threshold of restoration for Queens; 14,000 Queens customers, however, were still left in the dark, over half of the remaining 24,700 outages citywide. By then, Con Edison had already long restored over 95 percent of impacted customers in both Brooklyn and Staten Island, BP Lee noted.
Many of the Queens elected officials at today’s news conference included members of both the New York State Senate and State Assembly Committees on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions. The state legislature is planning hearings on the utilities later this month.
“Con Edison failed Queens in the immediate and extended wake of Tropical Storm Isaias, depriving us—at length—the necessary urgency, service and communications that we are owed as customers without a choice,” Lee said. “While 73,000 customers in Queens were rendered powerless, here in the Borough of Families, the real impact hit real people in multiples of that. Con Edison has the power now to choose to do right by its Queens customers for the prolonged trauma and danger imposed upon them. I urge Con Edison to offer immediate and full rebates to the 73,000 Queens customers on this month’s bill to remedy this disproportionate and inequitable restoration. It is the very least Con Edison can do.”
By Saturday, August 8, nearly 100 hours after the storm, Con Edison finally broke the 80 percent threshold of restoration for Queens; 14,000 Queens customers, however, were still left in the dark, over half of the remaining 24,700 outages citywide. By then, Con Edison had already long restored over 95 percent of impacted customers in both Brooklyn and Staten Island, Lee noted.
Lee also pointed out that there is precedent for Con Edison providing restitution to its Queens customers for a failed response to power outages. For nine days in July 2006, a Con Edison power outage left up to 174,000 people in western Queens without electricity. In January 2007, the New York State Public Service Commission determined that the blackout resulted from Con Edison’s “failure to address a multitude of pre-existing problems and issues associated with the operations, maintenance, and oversight of” its western Queens infrastructure. In 2008, facing legal action by Queens residents and business owners as well as an ongoing investigation by the Public Service Commission, Con Edison agreed to a settlement that provided a $46 million rate benefit for its customers, and a $17 million benefit fund for those directly affected in Western Queens, half of which was dedicated to significant bill credits.
Photo Courtesy of Sen. Addabbo’s Office
“Unfortunately, this situation isn’t a new one. Many of my constituents have been victimized by major storms in the past and were prepared before, during and after this recent Isaias storm,” Sen. Addabbo said.
“Unfortunately, this situation isn’t a new one. Many of my constituents have been victimized by major storms in the past and were prepared before, during and after this recent Isaias storm. I’d like to make sure Con Ed is just as prepared going forward,” State Sen. Joe Addabbo, Jr. (D-Howard Beach) said. “For the current outages, I have been in touch with Con Ed to alert them to areas with prolonged outages. There needs to be a long-term plan to this problem, and not just reactionary measures after service has been interrupted.”
Last Wednesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that he is directing the state Department of Public Service to launch an investigation into Verizon, PSEG Long Island, Con Edison, Central Hudson Gas & Electric, Orange and Rockland Utilities, and New York State Electric & Gas “to understand how such a failure could have taken place. New Yorkers deserve answers and they deserve better.
“The large volume of outages and the utilities’ failure to communicate with customers in real time proves they did not live up to their legal obligations,” Cuomo added. “The fact that many customers still do not know when their power will be restored makes it even more unacceptable. The worst of this situation was avoidable, and it cannot happen again.”
