While Con Edison has successfully restored power to thousands of Westchester residents, many are still waiting for service to be restored. This is unacceptable. I have provided details below about how to file a claim to cover spoiled food, medication, or perishable commercial merchandise, as well as information on dry ice distribution provided by Con Edison. Optimum has also provided information to customers about how to file a reimbursement claim if you have been without Optimum service while you have had access to commercial power. Additionally, the state legislature announced that a joint hearing will be held to evaluate the failures in the response to Tropical Storm Isaias.

If you have any other questions or need assistance, please email me at paulina@nyassembly.gov or call my office at (914) 723-1115.

Stay safe and healthy, and please share this email with friends and neighbors.

Sincerely,

Amy Paulin

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Joint Legislative Hearing on Utilities’ Failure During Recent Storm

Yesterday Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie announced that a joint legislative hearing will be held to examine the response failures of various utility companies during the aftermath of Tropical Storm Isaias. The storm caused power outages for hundreds of thousands of ratepayers. The legislative hearing will evaluate the utilities’ preparation and response to the storm outages and related issues.

Westchester was one of the hardest hit areas when Tropical Storm Isaias pummeled New York last week. While thousands have seen power restored, for those who are still without power it is unacceptable. Storms like this are becoming more frequent. We must make sure the utility companies and the PSC do more to keep the lights on in our homes and businesses.

You can view the hearing announcement here: https://nyassembly.gov/Press/files/20200809.php.

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Con Edison Spoiled Food, Medication, or Merchandise Claims

File a Spoiled Food, Medication, or Perishable Commercial Merchandise Claim – Con Edison has expanded their claims policy for customers who lost power after the destructive tropical storm. Customers are eligible if they were without power for 48 consecutive hours or more due to the storm events starting on August 4, 2020. If you lost power for more than 48 consecutive hours, you can fill out a claims form to cover spoiled food, medication, or perishable commercial merchandise.

The Residential claim form and Commercial claim form can be used by customers seeking reimbursement. For more information please visit https://www.coned.com/en/services-and-outages/claim-form.

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Dry Ice Distribution – Con Edison

Con Edison will continue to have mobile information centers with workers available to answer questions at the following locations, and Con Edison will be distributing dry ice from these locations from 10:30 am until 9:00 pm, or until supplies run out. For daily updates on Con Edison’s dry ice distribution locations, check for the latest press releases on https://www.coned.com/en/about-us/media-center/news.

• At New Rochelle City Hall (515 North Ave, New Rochelle, NY 10801), in the rear parking lot on Hamilton Avenue
• At the North Castle Community (IBM) Park (205 Business Park Dr, Armonk, NY 10504)

Instructions for safe handling and disposal of dry ice are printed on the bag containing the ice. Dry ice is frozen carbon dioxide and should be used only in well-ventilated areas. A reminder: children and pets should be kept safely away from dry ice.

Con Edison is following safety guidelines issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the state, and the county for COVID-19 and asks customers to practice social distancing while waiting with others and speaking with Con Edison representatives. That will help ensure that everyone remains safe during the health crisis.

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Altice (Optimum) Credit Request and Troubleshooting Service Outages

Residents who experienced a loss in Optimum service while having never lost commercial power or after commercial power was restored can request a credit at https://www.optimum.net/support/request-a-credit/.  For more information visit http://optimum.com/outage or call 1-866-950-3278.

Service Restoration: Troubleshooting Tips

Once power has been restored to a customer, Optimum services should return. If a customer experienced a loss of power, it is best to restart equipment using the following steps:

• Unplug Optimum equipment from its power source.
• Wait 30 seconds.
• Plug Optimum equipment back into the power source.

If Optimum service does not return after restarting, it is possible that:

1. The power that feeds Optimum’s network in that area comes from a different commercial power source than the power that feeds the home or business with the Optimum service outage, or there is another issue relating to network power that needs to be addressed. Optimum is coordinating with Con Edison to identify these issues and ensure prioritization of repair or restoration; or
2. There is damage to the Optimum network, like a downed utility pole or wire break, and Optimum’s crews are working to rectify this type of damage to restore service.

Optimum has created a portal for customers to check on Optimum service status online by doing the following:

• Go to optimum.net/support/outage and sign in with Optimum ID and password. Next, under Support, located in the upper right corner, click “Service status.”

Report Service Issues:

If an Optimum customer is still experiencing a service issue, Optimum has four channels for customers to report service outages. Contacting Optimum via any of these channels should result in a trouble ticket being created that will direct a repair team to assess and address the issue:

•   Visit optimum.net/support/outage
•   Message Optimum at optimum.net/chat
•   Send Tweet to @Optimumhelp
•   Call (866) 950-3278