AP News, January 18th, 2007
A state agency released a blistering report Wednesday on last summer's blackouts, charging that the local utility's performance was "unacceptable and a gross disservice to its customers," tens of thousands of whom lost power for several days.
The Public Service Commission report details a litany of mistakes that Consolidated Edison made during blackouts in the Queens borough of New York City and suburban Westchester County in July 2006 and said the company needed to make "critical and substantial" improvements.
About 174,000 people lost service or experienced low voltage, many more than the 100,000 that Con Ed claimed, the report said.
"Staff finds that Con Edison's performance was unacceptable and a gross disservice to its customers," said the draft report by the PSC's staff, which began investigating days after power was restored.
At the height of the crisis, 10 of the 22 feeder cables that carry electricity through the Con Ed system were malfunctioning. Residents sweltered without air conditioning on some of the hottest days of the year, and estimated business losses ran into the tens of millions of dollars as stores were forced to throw out perished goods.
In October, Con Edison praised its efforts to restore power, detailing how it was quick to respond by deploying all available personnel around the clock.
But the report said: "While most of the company's operating personnel, field crews and consumer services representatives worked long hours and under difficult conditions to contain the crisis, the company either failed, or refused, to comprehend the magnitude of the crisis."
Consolidated Edison said Wednesday that it has worked tirelessly to improve its network systems, operating performance and emergency response procedures. It said it was reviewing the PSC's preliminary findings.
"We will continue to improve our operations and procedures to reduce the likelihood of similar occurrences in the future and will continue to work closely with city and state agencies," it said in a statement.
Con Edison said three unrelated incidents caused the blackout, but the commission suggested the scope of the crisis could have been reduced if company officials had acted pre-emptively on operations, maintenance and oversight.
