The City Room reports that Con Ed ssued a statement at 7:38 a.m. “urging all
customers in the East Midtown area of Manhattan to discontinue their
use of non-essential electrical appliances and equipment until problems
on electrical cables can be resolved following yesterday’s steam-main
rupture.” The steam-main rupture killed one person and injured 30.
Although there are no power failures reported yet, the utility is reporting strains on its electrical system.
The area affected includes roughly 14,000 customers — a term that
includes businesses and apartment buildings as well as households —
from East 39th to 57th Streets and from the Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive
to Park Avenue.The utility said it had asked managers of big commercial buildings
to reduce their power consumption. Con Edison is asking residents in
the area not to use washers, dryers, air conditioners “and other
energy-intensive equipment” during peak hours of 1 p.m. to 6 p.m and to
turn off lights and televisions when not in use.