Since March, authorities say that more than 30 manhole covers have been stolen from the streets of Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. Perhaps it was the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Or just a fan of various manhole cover designs? We'll leave the risque jokes to you guys. more ›

Earlier this morning, a transformer exploded in the Bronx, causing a power outage in the Gun Hill section. One of the affected buildings in the area was Eastchester Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center, and one of the patients on ventilators died, according to the Post. more ›

At his press conference this morning, Mayor Bloomberg said Con Edison may preemptively shut off the power to Lower Manhattan, sparing the grid widespread damage but possibly leaving residents and business without power until Monday. “You can plan on the possibility of no power downtown,” he said, noting that ConEd will make the final decision in the coming hours. more ›

Workers have patched up the water main that broke yesterday in the Bronx, but the pain continues for businesses and residents. Hundreds are still without gas, bus service is rerouted, and there's a lot of damage from the flooding that turned many streets into rivers. One resident told the WABC 7, "We're surrounded by water. We can't go nowhere. We can't get nowhere. We're stuck." more ›

The heat "dome" keeps pushing the mercury up, and you know what that means: Con Edison is warning customers to expect scattered outages for the next few days. "This is Day 1 of a three-day battle for us," John Miksad, senior VP of Electric Operations says. How bad it is? Con Ed is forecasting that power usage today and tomorrow could break the company's all-time record. The previous high was 13,141 megawatts in August 2006. more ›

Because of a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ruling that will impose an unnecessary 12% Con Ed rate hike (a typical $74 apartment bill would go up $12), Governor Andrew Cuomo is getting involved. The Post reports that he "will introduce legislation 'within the next few days' permitting the city to guarantee permanent property-tax abatements to local electric-generating companies, removing the basis for a little-noticed FERC decision that could hike electric rates by $500 million a year." Cuomo spokesman Josh Vlasto said, "This is a common-sense fix for a problem that could cost New York rate-payers hundreds of millions of dollars per year." more ›

Now that a federal ruling has raised the amount that power generators can get, which would then result in a 12% rate hike for Con Ed customers, on top of another previously-scheduled 4% rate hike, we need a hero to stop this madness. And Senator Charles Schumer is signing up for hero duty: Schumer told the Post that he spoke to the head of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, "I told him how upset we were about FERC's decision, and how we thought they left out some very key information, and about how we wanted a rehearing. He said there will definitely be a rehearing." more ›

Thanks to a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Ruling, Con Edision will be raising its rates by 12% this summer. According to NY1, "That's on top of another four percent state-approved ConEd rate hike. The typical apartment electric bill averages $74 but that will go up $12 from last summer. Businesses can expect a nearly 18 percent increase on their bill." Okay, start praying we don't have another heat wave. more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] We're getting reports over the wires that there's a major fire, possibly caused by an explosion, at the Con Edison plant on East 14th St in Manhattan on the East River. According to one report, all hands have been called "for fire in a pothead on top of a transformer. FD units are awaiting a Con-Ed white helmet to respond. Site fire suppression system has been activated. PD Highway reporting heavy smoke condition affecting the FDR Drive." more ›

When reader Rishi D. sent us this photo of a "Con Electric" van on Park Place, we initially thought it was a part of some image overhaul from good ol' Con Ed. But Con Ed spokesman Allan Drury quickly shot that suspicion down, telling us, "That’s not a Con Edison vehicle. We have not undertaken any such rebranding. I have no way of knowing the identity of the people in the photo or the owner of the truck." more ›

While this week's dag nasty heat wave forced many New Yorkers to take refuge in libraries, cooling centers, and public beaches, others tried to cool down with the power of spoken word poetry. Poor Woodside resident Erma Dinis, who had been out of power for days, gave the quote of the week to Eyewitness 7: "We can't take this no more. Yesterday my head go so numb, I couldn't hear anything and I thought I was in a plane from the heat. I mean why should we suffer like that?" Con Ed blamed the suffering on "feeder cable failure," and high demand. more ›

Today we've beaten endured the record high temperature set for Central Park on July 7th. A little after 1:30 p.m., the mercury rose to 99 degrees, besting the old record of 98 set in 1993. Listless low-five! It's stinking hot out there—literally, folks! The heat and trash still lingering from the long weekend is making this dirty town reek. As one Bed-Stuy resident put it to the Times, parts of this city smell "like cat or dog feces mixed with food that been there for weeks or something." Or as one Crotona Park father recounted, "My kids were crying, 'What’s that smell, Daddy? It smells like a rat that’s dead.' I said, 'No, mami, it’s not a rat, it’s the garbage.' " more ›

Up to 50 people have been evacuated from a six story building at 410 West 23rd Street near 9Th Avenue. According to reports coming in over the wires, there are three smoking manholes outside the buildings, and carbon monoxide readings over 220 parts per million. And yes, we've seen this movie before! Update: Here's video. more ›

Last night, the NYPD and FDNY responded to a call about a "suspicious vehicle" parked outside the Con Edison building on Irving Place between 14th and 15th Streets, a block east of Union Square. The 1991 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera had some gas containers in the back seat. After closing down some streets, partially evacuating a building and having the bomb squad inspect the car, it was determined that the vehicle was not a threat. Oh, and talking to the car's owner helped, too. more ›

Con Edison won approval from the Public Service Commission, the state agency that oversees utilities, to rise its rates 12% over three years. The NY Times reports, "Con Ed estimated that the increases would raise a typical household bill, now about $84 a month, to more than $94 a month in 2012." This first hike will take effect next month, and the average household's monthly bill will go up by $3.63 (the rates are a little higher in Westchester and a little lower for businesses). more ›

It's been more than three days since the Nor'Easter hit, and though lots of New Yorkers are still without electricity, their numbers are dwindling and Con Edison says all power will be back by tomorrow. Chris Olert, a spokesman for the company, told Gothamist that at latest count 143,000 customers have had power restored: "1,000 remain without electricity on Staten Island, 700 in The Bronx, and approximately 24,000 customers in Westchester County," he reported. (Queens and Brooklyn are up and running.) more ›

Two politicians got together and wrote a letter to Con Edison, demanding that Staten Island be compensated for its loss of electricity during this weekend's Nor'Easter. More than 48 hours after the lights went out, some borough residents are still without power, reports the Advance. With city temperatures rising, Councilmen James Oddo and Vincent Ignizio say current obstacles include browning meat and quickly wilting lettuce. "The fact is that without proper refrigeration food spoils rather quickly and we are concerned that many of our constituents have powerless refrigerators and freezers filled with rotten and useless food. This leads to considerable financial losses," they wrote. Con Ed hasn't gotten back to them but it's currently handing out dry ice at the Staten Island Mall. more ›

Given that there are manhole fires from time to time—and that many times steam can be seen rising from them—it's no surprise to learn they can leave burns. And now a Bronx woman is suing Con Ed for burns she suffered in 2006. According to the Daily News, "Melissa Mann was crossing Allen St. on the lower East Side on Sept. 5, 2006, when she was hit by a delivery van...She flew through the air and landed on a manhole cover, which burned her instantly, according to a lawsuit filed in Bronx Supreme Court this week." Yikes. Her lawyer said his client has permanent scarring, not to mention seizures, and walks with a cane, "For the temperature of that cap to be so hot that it caused scalding burns to the touch is not right. It poses a danger to citizens walking on the street not to mention any animals walking on the street." Mann is seeking "an award for medical services, lost wages and pain and suffering." Five years ago, a woman got a "manhole tattoo" on her back when she fell (while skateboarding in the East Village) on a manhole. more ›

Long Island Congressman Peter King tried to take care of a campaign donor in the manhole cover business by sending $3 million in federal funds their way for covers that Con Edison refused to even use. Various people connected to the Long Island company Manhole Barrier have donated almost $17,000 to King, who requested the federal funding in earmarks for locking manhole covers they said would thwart terrorists. But Con Ed said no to the covers that would only cover 2% of their manholes, saying they would be an obstacle to firefighters as well. One Con Ed official told the News, "We said 'no,' it's impractical. What are you going to do? Have 250,000 keys for these things?" Con Ed says that security cameras plus the 300-pound weight of their covers should be more than enough to protect from any terrorist infiltration. King is gearing up for a Senate bid, in all likelihood against newly appointed Senate replacement Kirsten Gillibrand. more ›

Federal prosecutors say that eleven Con Edison supervisors (ten current and one retired) forced a contractor to give them over a $1 million in bribes so they'd approve payments on projects like clean-up from the 2007 steam pipe explosion near Grand Central Station. And what's more, the feds have wiretaps of them bragging about it. Classy! more ›

Yesterday lawmakers in New Jersey gave their approval to allow the construction of a $1 billion offshore wind farm as part of an overall plan that calls for 20 percent of the state’s energy to come from renewable sources by 2020. The plan includes the building of 96 turbines beginning in 2013 that will power over tens of thousands of homes. Unlike previously proposed turbines that were seen as potential eyesores on ocean views, these will be deep sea turbines, built 16 to 20 miles from the shore. PSE&G says that the turbines would produce enough energy to enable the company to break even within seven years. New Jersey's bold initiative is expected to provide momentum in New York, where Con Edison is currently investigating how to feasible using wind power would be following Mayor Bloomberg's talk over the summer imagining a city skyline where turbines sat atop New York City buildings. more ›

The Con Edison training and conference facility in Long Island City, Queens has joined a small but growing family of buildings with green roofs, which absorb heat, reduce the need for air conditioning, and help improve air quality. According to the Sun, Con Edison projects that the green roof will save the building up to 30% in energy costs. There are now 21,000 plants atop the three-story facility, including 15 varieties of sedum, a shrub like plant typically found in desert climates which can absorb rainwater and is resistant to pests. more ›

Con Edison has agreed to pay $24 million in damages caused by the steam pipe explosion near Grand Central Station last year. Con Ed will not pass along any of those costs to customers and in addition agreed to return to customers anything beyond $24 million that it wins in pending legal settlements related to the explosion. City Councilman Eric Giola spoke out in favor of the settlement saying Con Ed's “mistakes and bad management don’t just cost New Yorkers money, they also cost lives.” more ›

A year ago today, a 24" steam pipe installed in 1924 broke and caused a massive explosion on Lexington Avenue and East 41st Street. Right after the blast, the Mayor called it a "failure of infrastructure." more ›

Those high natural gas and oil prices have raised the prices for wholesale electricity that Con Ed buys from power-generating companies, and naturally the company is passing those expenses along to us. The company says that residential customers will pay 22% more for electricity this year than they did last summer – almost a quarter of that spike is due to a Bloomberg-approved rate hike. more ›

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Earlier there was news of a luxury condo leveling a church and digging up graves, now word is in that the South Williamsburg power plant on Kent Avenue will meet the same fate. The Brooklyn Paper reports that Con Edison has finally admitted its plan to demolish the defunct power plant and neighborhood landmark.

Neighbors of the abandoned Kent Avenue power plant knew something was up back in March, when workers started tearing holes into the 102-year-old red brick building, which has been inactive since the late 1990s.