Yesterday afternoon, a contractor came into contact with a live cable at the Astoria substation and suffered a fatal heart attack. John Rodriguez worked for CKR Construction, not Con Ed, and had been installing a new cable.

The NY Times reported on Con Ed's statement, "A contractor was excavating and installing grounding cable in the substation...It appears he came into contact with an energized cable....We are investigating the circumstances of the incident, and we are working with other authorities. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.”

A woman whose father has worked at the station told NY1, "I'm scared, to be honest, because he works pipe installation, and he works with all those wiring and pipes, so you never know what can happen. It's a sad story, you know. I feel for the family."

On its website, Con Ed touts that stray voltage shocks have dropped nearly 80%, but the memory of Jodie Lane's electrocution death, coupled with the Queens blackout of 2006 and last summer's Midtown steam pipe explosion have raised questions about the utility's competency.