Last year many Edgemont residents experienced frequent power outages. Some families were out of power 4,5 or 6 times during 2006. Con Ed sent officials and technicians to a meeting I sponsored on Thursday, February 15th in Edgemont and reported that they are taking major steps to reduce the possibility of significant power outages in the future.
Among the plans: $107 million in infrastructure enhancements: infra-red inspections...looking more aggressively for loose connections...replacement of wires...replacing transformer station...building a new Elmsford substation...underground feeders distribution improvements...new feeder to enhance reliability...an aggressive tree trimming program.
At the meeting Con Ed officials indicated that many of the trees that fell last year (causing power outages) had an expected life of about 70 years. The trees were planted around the 1930s --the inside of the trees were found to have rotted.
Major outage factors include trees falling down. I was surprised that 8.47% of the power outages are caused by animals (squirrels jumping on transformers, for example). 1.50% of the outages were caused by lighting. And, another 1.07% caused by traffic accidents.
Other neighborhoods that would like me to sponsor similar meetings should contact me at pfeiner@greenburghny.com. This was an informative meeting. Con Ed prepared for the meeting by analyzing the Edgemont streets that had experienced numerous power outages in 2007.
PAUL FEINER