Con Ed Swears Off Blackouts

| 11 Nov 2014 | 01:36

    Yesterday, Con Ed unveiled a new [$300 million power substation] in the Bronx that will provide an additional 900 megawatts of force for the borough, as well as Queens and Manhattan. In addition, CEO Kevin Burke announced that the Queens network is improved, if not new, with two high-voltage feeder cables, 120 transformers, 24 miles of new underground cable and a computerized early problem alert system. But while Burke touted these advancements as evidence of the future non-blackouts New Yorkers won’t suffer this summer, [Queens residents and politicians are doubtfu](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/06/13/2007-06-13_weve_got_juice-2.html)l. In reference to the new substation’s price tag and Con Ed’s assurances, Mayor Bloomberg said, “That sounds like a lot of money. Let's hope they're right.”

    Promises, promises… A Brooklyn woman says Con Ed [failed to restore full power] in her home for weeks after her neighborhood recently suffered a blackout.

    Meanwhile, St. Bartholomew's Church is [suing Con Ed] for $1 million after its pipe organ, the largest in the city, ceased to make beautiful music. The nearly 90-year-old instrument was allegedly damaged by “moist, humid and damp air” blown in through steam lines below the church that are maintained by Con Ed. The lawsuit claims that [Con Ed was aware of the problem](http://www.1010wins.com/pages/573850.php?contentType=4&contentId=603294) for several weeks in 2004, and made the necessary repairs, but not before the pipe organ needed more than $1 million in repairs.