Williamsburg, NY – Con Ed Providing Ice for People Still Out Of Power

Williamsburg, NY – As the heat and humidity soared this week, hundreds of thousands of New York City residents were told to turn off their appliances, and others lost power completely. The major power problems come just days into summer.

Williamsburg resident Paul Pennolino picked up dry ice from Con Ed workers Tuesday after losing power in the summer’s first blackout.

“Hot. Very hot. Even the dogs were sweating,” he told CBS 2. “With the rates they charge, we should all be getting rebates for this, not dry ice.”

Pennolino was one of thousands in pockets across the city who lost power after the heat and humidity index broke 100 Monday. The utility was so concerned about a possible system crash, it called customers to ask them to shut off their appliances.

“On the Upper West Side of Manhattan it was 69,000 [customers]. In Brooklyn it was about 186,000,” said Con Ed spokesman Chris Olert.

As Con Ed workers sweated to repair damaged cables in Williamsburg, some of those who were still without power wondered what’s in store power-wise for the rest of the summer, especially during the dog days of July and August.

“It’s not good news. I mean, I don’t know what to expect. Come August it might be even worse,” said Williamsburg resident Danny Carrera.

“What if this goes on? We have this type of weather now for two weeks. What’s going to happen? The city is totally unprepared,” said Greenpoint resident Minerva Witkowski.

Con Ed said it’s not worried about the rest of the summer.

“The heat can take its toll on the equipment, but we have people available 24 hours a day,” said Olert.

CBS 2 Meteorologist John Elliott said that with summer just starting, Con Ed better get ready for some rough patches.

“It’s likely that we’re going to see a few more stretches where you have the high heat and the humidity working against us in concert,” he said.

The company said that if your power was out for more than 12 hours you are entitled to damages.

Con Ed has invested $1 billion in the system, and $800 million for upgrades this summer.