NYC heat wave: Utility companies working to keep up with demand and keep grid online
NEW YORK -- Storms and the extreme heat have caused power problems for Con Edison customers in New York City.
Most of the issues Thursday afternoon and evening were in the Throgs Neck section of the Bronx, CBS2's Andrea Grymes reported.
It started with just the heat, but storms rolled in and a tree fell on power lines. About 3,000 customers had lost power.
"It sounded like something was coming through the house," a resident named Louis said.
Louis couldn't believe the decades-old tree in his front yard came down during the afternoon thunderstorm.
"I'm glad it didn't fall on my house or the guy's house next door," he said.
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Louis was in good spirits, especially since no one was hurt. But the tree knocked down power lines - just one cause of the neighborhood's power problems on Thursday.
"It was pouring like crazy. Pouring," said Valerie Gates. "It's a little warm, but at least it's breezy. I opened all the windows to let the air in."
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Con Edison said the storms caused electricity issues in the Bronx, while the extreme heat and stress on the grid caused some 520 customers to lose power in Astoria.
"We think all of those people are back in service or will be back in the next few hours," said Jamie McShane of Con Edison.
Residents on 34th Street between 31st Avenue and Broadway said they lost electricity at around 1 a.m.
Debbie Walstein sat outside on 34th Street for most of the night and watched crews make repairs because it was too hot to stay inside her home.
"It's horrible, I was out, I sat outside here 'till ten to four this morning," Walstein said.
"Too hot inside. That's why I'm sitting outside," Zazi Rahman said.
"Really suffering. I feel so dizzy ... I pray rosary for Jesus to help us," Lucija Pesa said.
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Con Edison said it's back to full voltage in several central Queens neighborhoods, including Fresh Meadows. The company had reduced voltage by 8 percent and asked customers to conserve energy while it made repairs.
Customers were asked to not use washers, dryers and microwaves until the repairs were completed. The utility also asked them to use a single air conditioner at the highest comfortable temperature.
More than 5,000 Con Edison customers out of roughly 3.5 million were impacted during the height of Thursday's outages. To check Con Ed service near you, CLICK HERE, or call 1-800-75-CONED.
In the meantime, Mayor Eric Adams toured the Washington Heights Library cooling center, one of hundreds of free, air conditioned cooling centers across the city.
Adams said they're important resources.
"Growing up, I never had an air conditioner. The air conditioner was opening the fridge and just standing in front of it," Adams said.
Click here to find a cooling center or here to find a public pool or call 311.
