Public Advocate Williams seeks better communication from Con Ed following outages

After meeting with executives at Con Edison, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams say he wants the energy company to improve communication with customers following massive outages last weekend.

News 12 Staff

Jul 26, 2019, 9:54 PM

Updated 1,728 days ago

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After meeting with executives at Con Edison, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams says he wants the energy company to improve communication with customers following massive outages over the past two weeks.
Williams sought answers for why Con Ed cut power to about 30,000 Brooklyn customers amid scorching temperatures. He says they told him it was because they were experiencing issues and cutting power was done to prevent more significant problems from occurring.
Williams wants there to be a better way to get information out to prepare the public for large outages.
He also still wants an answer as to why the city's emergency management did not inform the public about the outages when it was first being considered.
"A question that remains is, how are we getting this information to the public in enough time, so that people like my elderly aunt and uncle can make the medical decisions that were made if their power was going to go out," says Williams.
A spokesperson for Con Ed says in part, "We know that any power loss can be difficult. In southeast Brooklyn, where we had to make a quick decision, we were unable to let customers know in advance that power was being shut off. The seriousness of the situation required us to act fast."
When asked if another outage could occur, Williams says that, at this time, it is hard to predict.


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