NEW YORK CITY — Mayor Bill de Blasio urged New York City residents to immediately reduce energy usage in their homes and businesses Wednesday as the extreme heat has pushed Con Edison’s power grid to the limit.
De Blasio said he spoke with ConEd’s president, who warned that widespread power failures were possible Wednesday night if New Yorkers did not reduce their energy usage as the city grapples with a fourth day of dangerously high temperatures.
“We have a real challenge on our hands,” de Blasio said during a briefing Wednesday afternoon. “We need to ensure that our electric supply is protected. We need to avoid any possible disruptions.”
The mayor suggested New Yorkers immediately turn off any unnecessary lights and appliances, and reset air conditioning units to higher temperatures. He urged residents to continue power-saving measures overnight through Thursday morning, when the heat wave is expected to finally break.
“We’re asking people to avoid any of the things that use a lot of electricity,” he added. “We need people to take steps right now to protect against any outages.”
Wednesday afternoon, many city residents received a mobile alert urging conservation.
Emergency Management Commissioner John Scrivani said there was one larger power outage in Brooklyn on Wednesday, impacting about 1,700 customers.
ConEd and the Emergency Management Department set up a response outpost at the corner of Nassau and Morgan avenues. Crews distributed dry ice and an MTA bus was parked at the intersection to serve as a mobile cooling center.
City Cooling Centers were also open across the five boroughs. To find a Cooling Center nearest to you, call 311 or visit NYC.gov/beattheheat.
“But the most important message now is, we do not want to see things go from bad to worse,” de Blasio warned. “We all need to act now, so I’m asking every New Yorker to be a part of this. Turn off anything you don’t need to be on right now.”
