Hurricane Isaias Batters Region

Con Ed reports that in Westchester County, about 45,000 customers have seen power restored, with 83,000 restorations in progress while NYSEG states that approximately 61,000 customers out of the total 97,178 customers impacted are without power in the company’s Brewster division, which includes Dutchess, Putnam, and Westchester counties. Con Ed expects power to be restored for nearly all customers by Sunday and NYSEG is forecasting Monday.  

“In just 36 hours, Con Edison crews reached the halfway mark in restorations following Isaias’ punishing winds and rain that brought down thousands of trees, 78 poles and other equipment, causing over 580 road closures and approximately 300,000 customer outages,” Con Ed stated Thursday morning. 

Meanwhile, NYSEG noted the electric system has suffered “devastating damage.”

“Informal crew assessments indicate that the damage surpasses that of Hurricane Sandy in 2012,” NYSEG stated Thursday morning. “In Dutchess, Putnam and Westchester counties alone, more than 161 electric poles were destroyed, more than 1,300 wires were brought down, and many roads were made impassable due to downed trees and other hazards. Complicating efforts, dangerous and powerful winds did not end until well into the evening, limiting the work that could be completed in the field.”

On Thursday morning, a fresh shift of Con Edison employees – more than 1,000, including 460 utility contractors and mutual aid workers – “will continue the forward momentum of assessing damage, providing site safety, restoring power, and clearing trees and downed wires,” the company said. Westchester is the utility’s hardest hit region.

“Crews are continuing to work with municipalities to remove downed wires from fallen trees to facilitate the opening of blocked roads,” Con Ed said. 

NYSEG, for its part, said the company expects 95 percent of customers will have power restored by 11 p.m. on Monday.

“Crews will continue to work during the overnight period and until every customer is restored,” NYSEG said. 

The company announced the following estimated restoration timeline:

• 50% of total customers impacted will be restored today (Thursday).
• 60-70% of total customers impacted will be restored on Friday.
• 80% of total customers impacted will be restored on Saturday.
• 90% of total customers impacted will be restored on Sunday.
• 95% of total customers impacted will be restored on Monday.

The hardest-hit communities in Westchester, according to Con Ed, are Yonkers, New Rochelle, Mount Vernon, Cortlandt, Rye and Greenburgh.

Con Ed, in discussing power restoration, said: “We will give priority to making repairs that will provide power to the most customers quickly, then restore smaller groups and individual customers. Crews will continue working on some of those smaller groups into the early part of next week.”

The company also said the vast majority of customers are “expected to be restored by end of day Sunday, August 9. Critical customers are being restored first.”

“Steer clear of any downed wires and report them to your municipality,” Westchester County Health Commissioner Dr. Sherlita Amler said. “If you plan to use a chain saw to clear up fallen branches, gear up first with a helmet, protective goggles or a face shield, earplugs and close-toed boots or shoes with long pants. Never fuel a hot or running chain saw and start the saw at least 10 feet from the fueling area.”

Westchester County Executive George Latimer said as of 8 a.m. today, 77,081 out of about 360,000 Con Edison customers were without power; 25,880 of 33,000 NYSEG customers were without power.

Latimer gave the utilities an “incomplete” on their response and was critical of inadequate communication, charging that they make blanket statements of estimating when all customer will be restored.

“That’s a vague way of saying I’m not going to be specific with you because I don’t want to commit to something you’re going to hold me to,” he said.

Putnam County Executive MaryEllen Odell declared a State of Emergency on Wednesday. 

“While the majority of our roads are now passable thanks to the efforts of our Highway Departments, we still have an unparalleled number of residents without power and our highway crews along with the utility companies will continue working to clear debris and restore power,” Odell said.

Many people who have power remain without Internet connection. 

“We know some of our subscribers are still patiently waiting for service to be restored,” Optimum wrote on Twitter. “The power grids are experiencing prolonged outages, which is impacting our connectivity.”