An intense heat wave sweeping across New York City has significantly strained the power grid, resulting in widespread electricity outages affecting thousands of residents, primarily in Southeast Queens. Utility company Con Edison is actively working to restore service while urging customers to dramatically conserve energy to help stabilize the system and prevent further disruptions.
As of late Monday, Con Edison crews had successfully brought power back to over 1,600 customers in the affected Southeast Queens zone. However, more than 6,200 customers remained without electricity as repair efforts continued amidst the sweltering conditions.
Scope of the Southeast Queens Outage
The outage area in Southeast Queens is extensive, bordered by the Grand Central Parkway to the north, Jamaica Bay to the south, the Nassau County line to the east, and Queens Boulevard/Van Wyck Expressway to the west. This wide zone includes numerous neighborhoods vital to the borough, such as Bellaire, Bellerose, Cambria Heights, Floral Park, Glen Oaks, Hollis, Jamaica, Laurelton, Queens Village, Springfield Gardens, St. Albans, and South Jamaica. This region is home to approximately 166,000 Con Edison customers who are either directly impacted by the outage or within the area subject to voltage reduction.
To help manage the stress on the system and facilitate repairs, Con Edison implemented an 8% voltage reduction across the impacted area.
Heat Wave Strains Grid Citywide
The issues in Southeast Queens are part of a larger challenge facing the city’s power infrastructure during the extreme heat. Reports indicated that the heat wave caused outages affecting thousands of Con Edison customers across its service area, including significant numbers in Staten Island and the Bronx, alongside those in Queens. Voltage reductions were also enacted in parts of Staten Island and Brooklyn as the utility grappled with the increased demand driven by soaring temperatures under an Extreme Heat Warning.
Con Edison’s Urgent Call for Conservation
With repair crews on the ground, Con Edison is making a direct plea to customers in the Southeast Queens area – and advising conservation more broadly across the service area – to significantly reduce electricity usage. This measure is crucial to maintain system reliability, minimize the risk of additional outages, and help speed up the restoration process for those currently without power.
Specific conservation requests include:
Avoiding high-energy appliances: Postpone using washers, dryers, microwaves, and dishwashers.
Limiting air conditioning: If possible, only run one air conditioning unit per household and set it to the highest comfortable temperature.
Delaying EV charging: Electric vehicle charging should be postponed unless absolutely essential.
Restoration Efforts Underway
Con Edison has provided an estimated time for full power restoration in the Southeast Queens affected areas, currently projected for around 9 p.m. tonight. However, the utility cautions that this timeline is subject to change depending on conditions in the field as repairs progress.
Restoration priority follows a strategic plan, focusing first on critical public infrastructure like mass transit systems, hospitals, firehouses, and water-pumping stations to ensure essential services remain operational. Following stabilization of these vital facilities, crews will then prioritize restoring power to outages impacting the greatest number of customers before addressing smaller groups and individual homes.
Reporting Outages and Staying Informed
Residents experiencing an outage or seeking updates on restoration progress have multiple channels available:
Use the Con Edison mobile app.
Visit conEd.com/reportoutage online.
Call 1-800-75-CONED (1-800-752-6633).
When reporting an outage, customers are encouraged to mention whether their neighbors are also without power, as this helps Con Edison identify the scope of the issue. Customers who report their outage are eligible to receive estimated restoration times via text or phone updates.
Essential Safety Advice
During this period of outages and ongoing repairs, Con Edison emphasizes critical safety precautions:
Downed Wires: Never touch or approach downed power lines or anything in contact with them. Assume they are live and extremely dangerous. Utility workers, who carry identification, may be monitoring wires until repairs are complete.
Generators: Do not plug portable generators into wall outlets or operate them indoors, including in garages or basements, due to the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Vehicle Safety: If a power line falls onto your vehicle, remain inside until help arrives.
Prevent Overloads: Turn off appliances before power is restored to prevent circuit overloads when electricity returns.
- Stay Connected: Keep phones and battery-powered radios charged and have extra batteries readily available.
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As temperatures remain dangerously high, community cooperation in conserving energy is vital for public safety and comfort in Queens. For residents needing relief from the heat, New York City has opened cooling centers across all five boroughs. Locations and hours can be found by calling 311 or visiting NYC.gov/beattheheat.
