Mayor Richard Thomas Statement on Con Edison’s Failures

Thomas Calls for Investigation into Utility’s Practices

(Friday, March 9, 2018) — Mayor Richard Thomas released the following statement on continuing power outages following Winter Storms Reilly and Quinn and Con Edison’s failures.

“Con Edison’s management and response to Winter Storms Reilly and Quinn is unacceptable. I have told Con Ed leadership that their delivery of misleading progress reports is worse than giving us the bad news. A full accounting of what went wrong must be undertaken and Con Ed must reform its way of doing business.

I am joining Governor Andrew Cuomo and my fellow elected officials in calling for an immediate investigation into why Con Edison has failed to do its job in Westchester County. This is hardly the storm of the century, yet there are still homes and businesses without power and ratepayers without answers. We must examine Con Ed’s policies and procedures and demand resiliency and investment in our grid. In 2003, a tree branch in Ohio resulted in a massive blackout across the East Coast, costing billions in damage. It’s been too long for us not to have learned from that mistake.

I am thankful to our partners in New York State for stepping up and bridging the gap. Their response and communication with the city has been excellent. I am also grateful to our partners in the community such as 11 West Prospect Place which is offering free office space and charging stations for local businesses and entrepreneurs that may be struggling without power.”