WPCNR WEATHER SCOOP. By John F. Bailey. April 26, 2006: Assemblyman Adam Bradley of the 89th Assembly District in an exclusive interview, who himself had no power for three days in White Plains told WPCNR his feelings on the Con Edison decision not to honor food spoilage claims for Weschester victims of downed powerlines in last week's Westchester "Mystery Storm." He also said he was waiting for Con Edison's response to his questions he has put to them.

"I'm tremendously dissappointed with Con Edison in that regard, because  as someone who suffered for three days because of the blackout, because it is not fair to expect that consumers are going to know it was something defective in Con Edison's transformer, or whether it had to do with a natural disaster. The fact is all of these problems were a mixture of both. There was a natural disaster and Con Ed's lines did not perform perfectly. For the consumer to figure out which is the cause is outrageous."

Bradley continued:

WPCNR: Do you feel the state legislature might look into some relief for the Westchester County area?

Bradley: The legislature is not scheduled to go into session. What is clear as a member of the legislature I am going to be inquiring of Con Edison in regard to their policies, and to discuss with them the need to change there policies, because it is absolutely unfair for them to pass along to consumers the cost of spoilage, when, as far as I'm concerned they assume the risk. They make a very substantial profit they have options as to what they want to do with their lines, they've chosen to keep them above ground because of the cost factor, but at that point they're assuming the risk for the weather-related calamities.

WPCNR: Are you planning a state inquiry into this?

Bradley: I think it's premature for me to comment at this juncture about whether there will be an inquiry be conducted. I think there's a possibility depending on how Con Ed handles this prospectively for potential legislation to arise out of this.

WPCNR: Have you been in touch with Andy Spano on this?

Bradley: The problem I have with Con Edison is they piece meal everything. First they say only a $150 (per spoilage claim without receipts). Then they make the big effort to suddenly say, it's $350 without a receipt, then they put the caveat but, after the fact, that's $350 only if you can prove it's not an act of God or weather-related problem. It's ridiculous.

WPCNR: What are the county and various lawmakers thinking about now in regard to this?

Bradley: Well I think the county and the state are going to have to look at how Con Edison determines its policies in regarding these types of refunds. I have to say this, I've had dealings with other power companies like NYSEG, which covers a part of my district, and they don't pay anything unless you can establish gross negligence on their part. Ironically, as crazy as it sounds Con Edison's standard may be less than the standard used by many other utilities in the state. Most of them have a gross negligence. They're both wrong.

WPCNR: Were you happy with the county and city emergency information response?

Bradley: I think this was an unheralded storm. I'm not someone  who wants to run around casting blame. This storm took everyone by surprise by the gravity of it. It certainly White Plains I've never seen anything as devastating as this storm was. My neighborhood Rosedale was cut off from other places. I saw a lot of people working very hard in very difficult situations. I don't want to sit here and act like the whole system failed, I believe there were a lot of very hard working people in the county and the city, even Con Edison.

WPCNR: Nevertheless, since 9/11, the county and city were supposedly putting together emergency systems and procedures where everybody in a surprise situation would know what was going on. Quite frankly, no one knew what was going on for 48 hours last week.

Bradley: I certainly like many others did not know what was going on and certainly did not have a lot of help with my emergencies, including a tree that was about to fall on my house.  I would hope there were better lines of communications in the future. People are without telephone service, especially with cordless phones, they're plugins. People without cellphones cannot charge the batteries.  (Assemblyman Bradley suggested a 48-hour battery pack for cellphone users).

WPCNR: What's the next step?

Bradley: I've spoken to some folks at Con Edison, expressed my concerns, I'm waiting to hear back from Con Edison as to what they plan to do differently and how they plan to address the situation.

WPCNR: Is Mayor Delfino still around in the city. He isn't making any statements at all, I've asked him for two straight days

Bradley: I have not heard from the Mayor. I haven't spoken to him since this incident. I did speak to the Public Works Department. They worked tremendously hard during this storm. There's only so much the Mayor can do. I think the city worked as hard as it could.