Brooklyn, You’ve Been Warned: It’s Blackout Season
“We got a warning this morning from Con Edison, and there is a problem in Southern Brooklyn,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said at this morning’s press conference. “We’ve got to protect our electricity supply for all New Yorkers. We’ve got to make sure we avoid any disruptions in our electricity. Right now, there is a problem with some of the equipment in Southern Brooklyn.”
We are asking some of our customers on the west side of Brooklyn to conserve energy while company crews repair equipment. We have reduced voltage 8 percent in the area to protect equipment and maintain service as crews make repairs. #safetyfirst https://t.co/Bz5au8XhyN
— Con Edison (@ConEdison) July 30, 2020
He urged residents of Bay Ridge, Fort Hamilton, South Park Slope, Greenwood, and Sunset Park to reduce energy use immediately. “There’s something you can actually do to help us address this, which is to avoid using major appliances, avoid washers, dryers, microwaves, limit air conditioning use as much as possible,” he said. “Hopefully, this is something that gets resolved in the course of the day, but every-day people can make an impact here and we really want to make sure you did not have your electricity disrupted. So, everyone, please take this warning seriously, please act on it, and we will do everything in our power, and we will push Con Ed hard to resolve this situation quickly.”
As of early this afternoon, there were 11 power outages recorded in the Sunset Park/Bay Ridge area.
This is a reminder that it is always a good idea if you live in Brooklyn to prepare for electricity outages come late July and August – the warning is almost exactly a year after last summer’s blackout in southern Brooklyn that lasted for days in some neighborhoods.
The city has some tips for what to do before, and during, and after a power outage. Main takeaways – keep your gadgets and batteries charged, make sure you have some food that does not need refrigeration and know where to go to cool off.
Call Con Edison 24-hour hotline to report power outages immediately: 1-800-75-CONED (752-6633) (TTY: 800-642-2308). You can also report an outage online on Con Edison’s website, and follow Con Edison on Twitter for general outage updates.