WPCNR The Power News. By John F. Bailey, August 16, 2006: Consolidated Edison representative Sandra Miller, Con Edison's Director of Westchester Public Affairs, reacting to Mayor Joseph Delfino’s concerns about recurring power losses in the Highlands area of White Plains, promised the Mayor Con Edison will undertake a review of the power demands in that neighborhood and the existing Con Edison infrastructure ability to handle peak demands.

Mayor Joseph Delfino emerging from a Con Edison conference Tuesday afternoon, told WPCNR Ms. Miller and three unidentified Con Edision executives, (who did not wish to give their names to this reporter) agreed to the infrastructure review in the Highlands neighborhood, after a 1 hour fifteen minute meeting with the Mayor and Commissioner of Public Works Joseph Nicoletti at the Mayor’s request yesterday afternoon at City Hall. He also announced Con Edison will institute a new communications procedure with the White Plains Department of Public Works, and is working on a new customer reporting Hotline system. Photo, WPCNR News

The Mayor also announced Con Edison was reviewing its 800 number reporting system to make it more accurate and responsive to White Plains residents, and in the issue reconnecting White Plains, would give the White Plains DPW a direct contact to call in future emergency situations to coordinate DPW-Con Edision recovery efforts more efficiently.

In an exclusive interview with WPCNR after the meeting, Mayor Delfino said, “We addressed the issues of communications and practices in relation to when a storm of that nature comes upon us in the city. (The storm of July 18). You have to remember in hurricanes we can preprepare, but a storm like this you really can’t preprepare. Yes, it’s going to be heavy thunderstorm, but there are always announcements of heavy thunderstorms and we accept them as they are.  But, this burst that we had became a real problem. It hit 5 or 6 surrounding communities unlike a hurricane which sweeps by everybody, I’d say we were Number 1 or 2 (in terms of damage).”  (Editor’s Note: White Plains according to Con Edision had over 7,000 homes without power, the hardest hit community).

WPCNR asked what were the issues the Mayor discussed:

:”Who gets what service first, how is the communication, why does it break down? Those were the issues. Basically what  we were talking about. We’re going to have further meetings by the way, it was very kind of them to be responsive to us. We’re going to establish better means of communication and better practices on needs, whenever the lines go down, so that in priority order we can establish and keep our main roads open and work from there. It was very informative and they were very pleased with the meeting and so were we.”

Sandra Miller, Vice President of Public Affairs, waiting with a Con Edison executive, who did not wish to be identified before the start of Tuesday afternoon meeting with Mayor Delfino and Commissioner Nicoletti. Photo, WPCNR News

The meeting with Ms. Miller was arranged after Mayor Delfino wrote a critical letter sharply condemning  Con Ed’s supply of repair crews  to White Plains within the first 48 hours after the storm of July 18.

 Commissioner Joseph Nicoletti told WPCNR White Plains DPW crews only had two and at the most 3 Con Ed crews to turn off power so the DPW round-the-clock crews could remove fallen trees from the wires. Nicoletti, interviewed by WPCNR the week of the storm, said it was Con Edison policy that Con Ed crews would not remove trees, that White Plains DPW crews had to do that, and could only handle two areas at a time because Con Edison supplied only 2 and sometimes 3 crews. Nicoletti said he had 5 crews ready to go awaiting Con Edison’s trucks. (See previous stories) 

Consolidated Edison press officer, Joy Faber confirmed to WPCNR previously  that Consolidated Edison did remove trees from lines in the Town of Harrison in the posh section from North Street to the county airport. Harrison had all power restored by Friday evening, July 21, according to Harrison Police Chief David Hall.  Hall also said he was very pleased with Con Edison performance in his city, saying they had a large number of crews working in his town, however he did not remember how many. Harrison only had 500 homes without electricity according to Con Ed press spokespersons providing information to WPCNR.

WPCNR asked if Con Edision was going to examine some issues. The Mayor said:

“We’re going to establish one means of communications with them rather calling all over the place and ask who’s where, we’re going to find a system that’s going to work so that doesn’t happen. We learned from this, we always could do better. They were responsive  but they should have been more responsive.”

WPCNR asked about Nicoletti’s report that there were only two Con Edison crews dispatched to White Plains the first 48 hours after recovery, the Mayor said:

“Well, here was the issue. Who gets first priority. Where is it worst? Who’s communicating better? We got there probably as early as they (Con Ed) got there to man their stations. Because it happened so quickly because they didn’t expect that kind of storm. Bascially what happened was when we got our crews – by the way I told them I’m very very proud of public works – I can’t tell you the number of letters I’ve gotten here that have given them (public works) an A-Plus—our work is getting the trees cleaned up, not off the lines because we can’t take them off the lines until they (Con Ed) shuts the power down. But then how do you communicate to the public, and that’s  something I’ve got to worry about.”

WPCNR asked if Con Ed gave any reasons why they only supplied 2 (and sometimes 3) repair crews>

Delfino said:  “It’s just where priority was. They had established their own priority where to go first. Fortunately we managed 5 crews within an hour and a half, able to open our main roads.”

WPCNR pointed out that according to Con Edison’s Faber, Con Ed had cleared trees for  Harrison, the Mayor said, “That I can’t respond to. I think without question they got our message today. Once our crews are there, we expect them there.

WPCNR asked the Mayor to comment on the Con Edison Hot Line issue:

“We made that aware to them, that they have to come up with a better communications system (for customers to call). We’ve got to find a way of getting communications to our people also.”

Asked for details about changing the hotline, the Mayor said, “That’s what they’re working on. I don’t know the specifics. And Emergency response as quickly as possible is mandatory as far as we’re concerned.”

Asked about a resident who reported that a Con Edison foreman had said blackouts in the Highlands and Soundview Avenue during the 100 degree heat wave were because residents were using too much electricity, and whether or not Con Edison would confirm that, the Mayor had a mixed reaction:

“You know, John, let me tell you, I’ve got employees everyone’s got employees and sometimes they just spout out. When someone says they’ve got to leave because they have to go someplace else well that disturbs people. That’s their issue.”

The Mayor, though is not ignoring the frequent blackouts in the Highlands:

“All I can say is this: we are identifying -- we know there are two locations and probably a few more that are hot spots, that go out occasionally when power is at its highest and we’re going to give Con Ed a list of them, and they’re going to give us a priority in looking at the (city’s) grids. That’s very good news.”

The Mayor identified the Midchester area (Highlands) , Bolton Avenue and Soundview Avenue as three such areas Con Edison would review as far as line capacities, but we’re going to examine them all where we’ve had experience where they’ve gone out. Some areas haven’t gone out at all.”

WPCNR asked if Con Edison would consider rewiring the problem areas?

The Mayor noted, “I did not ask them that, I just said take a look at the grid, see what the issues are.

Sandra Miller, upon leaving the meeting, whom WPCNR interviewed first, before WPCNR spoke with the Mayor, said she and the Mayor discussed communications issues, and would not elaborate and the results of the meeting. She said it was a good meeting.

 Asked why Con Ed reportedly cut down trees in Harrison, but would not cut down and remove trees in White Plains, Miller said Con Edison was “concerned about safety,” and that was their top priority. Asked about the possibilities that Con Edison wiring in the Highlands area was overloaded due to the power demand and not able to handle the load, Miller said Con Edison spends $1 billion a year in maintenance in Westchester County, but would not comment specifically, and did not know how much Con Edision spent in White Plains.

The Mayor's Office scene of the Power Conference. The Mayor said Con Edison would be reporting back to him on the grid condition in White Plains and their new system of communication with White Plains Department of Public Works in emergencies. Photo, WPCNR News.