Utility Tries To Open Lines Of Communication

After recent severe thunderstorms knocked out power to thousands of customers in Queens and throughout the city, Con Edison's response to the power outage immediately went under the microscope again.
One area that the company has attempted to improve, in light of harsh criticism from last year's 10-day blackout that crippled western Queens, is their communication with the city and local elected officials when power outages occur.
&#8220We're in contact with the city all the time,” said Con Ed spokesperson Alfonso Quiroz.
Quiroz said that Con Ed works with the different agencies, including the Office of Emergency Management (OEM), Police Department and Fire Department depending on the situation it is dealing with, and Andrew Troisi, a spokesperson for the OEM, said his agency is used as a point to distill information to other city agencies.
In addition, Quiroz mentioned initiatives including programs where Con Ed representatives meet with local elected officials and community organizations to inform them about their networks and have the locals help Con Ed with information for press releases about locations customers can come for emergency help.
However, City Councilmember Peter Vallone, who represents the area affected by last year's blackout and has been one of the harshest critics of Con Ed, said he has not received any calls from the utility company about these programs.
Vallone also said that during last week's outages, which he said affected some people in his district as well, he never heard from anyone at Con Ed.
However, during the most recent outage in Middle Village, City Councilmember Dennis Gallagher said that as soon as constituents started calling in to report the outages, Con Ed also began reaching out to his office.
&#8220I knew within minutes the electricity was out,” he said. &#8220They [Con Ed officials] were giving me timetables of restoration.”