Heat Causes Power Outages To Thousands Across Tri-State Area
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The heat wave is in its sixth day of sweltering temperatures and stifling humidity and has caused power outages across the Tri-state area.
Utilities are reporting record usage and are trying to keep-up with scattered outages. Some places in New York City and Westchester have been dealing with reduced voltage to protect the full grid.
1010 WINS' Carol D'Auria reports: No Power Means Sweating It Out For Many Residents
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By 5 p.m., Con Ed reported about 12,677 customers without power in New York City. The highest number of customers in the dark was in Queens with 6,632. There were 3,023 customers without power in the Bronx, 1,395 on Staten Island, 1,617 in Brooklyn and 10 in Manhatthan, according to its website.
In Westchester, 95 customers were without power.
By 5 p.m., the Long Island Power Authority reported 2,908 customers without power, 1,509 in Nassau County and 1,350 in Suffolk County.
PHOTO GALLERY: Heat Wave Hits Tri-State
In New Jersey, PSE&G reported about 4,100 customers statewide without power because of the heat. Jersey Central Power & Light has less than 1,o00 customers without power.
At 5 p.m., Connecticut Light & Power reported around 277 customers without power across the state.
As crews work to restore power around the Tri-state, customers in the dark spent the night sweating it out.
Queens resident Eric Brion and his son were so hot in their house, the decided to spend the night in their car with the AC cranked up. Brion says he isn't happy with how Con Ed has handled the heat wave.
"They should have been prepared, I think they knew it was coming," said Brion.
This morning, Middle Village, Queens resident Denise Carbone and her children are taking refuge in their air-conditioned car. They say they barely slept through the night.
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"I had to use towel because you were so sweaty," said Denise's daughter Caitlin Carbone.
Perhaps they can take a little bit of comfort in knowing that thousands of Con Ed customers are in the same boat.
With Friday's triple digit temperatures, Con Ed crews were busy repairing equipment and lines that had become overheated.
"We have crews that have been working on 12-hour shifts and other crews that have been ready to quickly respond to outages as they occur to try to minimize the duration of outages," said Con Ed spokesperson Sara Banda.
Con Ed is also asking customers to conserve energy by not using energy inefficient appliances and to set their thermostats no lower than 78 degrees. Banda said that each degree lowered saves six percent on cooling costs.
