By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUMNewYork Times
Officials at Consolidated Edison said on Saturday they had no current plans for a pre-emptive shutdown of electrical power in parts of Manhattan. But the utility said its most vulnerable substations on the island, most of which are by the waterline in the financial district, would be monitored for any severe flooding conditions.
If a shutdown of those substations did become necessary, the affected area would be the southeastern tip of Manhattan, bordered by the Brooklyn Bridge on the north, Broadway on the west and the East River on the south and east, said Chris Olert, a spokesman for Con Ed.
Mr. Olert said about 6,400 customers, including some large office buildings and multidwelling apartment houses, might potentially lose power in that scenario.
In a news conference earlier on Saturday, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg warned of the specter of an electrical shutdown in parts of downtown Manhattan because of the vulnerability of low-lying Con Edison substations.
“It’s conceivable that in downtown Manhattan, for example, there will be no electricity, as well as a lot of water in the streets,” the mayor said.
A shutdown in the area would occur only if a substation were flooded during the storm, Mr. Olert said. Such action would be taken to prevent more severe damage to electrical circuits and to allow power to be restored more quickly once the storm had passed.
But the utility is far more concerned with the overhead electrical wires on Staten Island and in Queens, the Bronx and parts of Westchester County, Mr. Olert said. Con Ed will be closely tracking wind conditions in those areas, and it has warned residents to look out for, and stay away from, any downed wires.
As for Lower Manhattan, Mr. Olert said, “we are not doing any shutdowns today, unless something erupts.”
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