Con Edison, the utility that keeps Manhattan running
Consolidated Edison (Con Edison, often shortened to ConEd) is the regulated electric, gas and steam utility for New York City and Westchester County. The company has the most reliable distribution grid in the United States, nine times more reliable than the U.S. average, and is rolling out one of the largest capital plans of any U.S. utility through 2030.
- The size of the Con Edison network and the regions it covers
- Why power outages happen on the New York grid
- The Reliable Clean City program and the $38 billion capex plan
- How smart meters, sensors and ADMS support reliability
A New York City grid built mostly underground
Con Edison's territory covers Manhattan, the Bronx, parts of Queens, parts of Brooklyn and Staten Island and Westchester County. About 70% of transmission and distribution lines are underground, an unusual share for a U.S. utility, which protects the system from tree damage and most weather-related outages.
- About 3.6 million electric and 1.1 million gas accounts, serving more than 10 million people.
- Coverage of New York City (excluding parts of Queens and Brooklyn served by other utilities) plus Westchester County.
- Service that is nine times more reliable than the typical U.S. utility, the most reliable distribution system in the country.
- Approximately 70% of transmission and distribution lines underground.
Con Edison is regulated by the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) and is a subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE: ED). The smaller affiliate Orange and Rockland Utilities (O&R) covers parts of New York and New Jersey under the same parent.
Heat waves, manhole fires and storms: why ConEd outages happen
Despite the largely underground grid, Con Edison still faces real outage risks: extreme heat, severe storms, equipment failures on aging cable and the relentless growth in load from electric vehicles, electric heating and data centers.
Heat waves and summer demand
Hot summer days drive air conditioning demand to extreme peaks. Con Edison's operators can open switches on 4-kilovolt overhead systems in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx to prevent power from shifting from failed cables onto cables that remain in service.
Severe storms and hurricanes
Hurricanes, nor'easters and severe thunderstorms can knock down overhead wire circuits in Westchester County and the outer boroughs. Hurricane Sandy in 2012 caused historic damage and triggered more than $1 billion in storm fortification investments.
Underground cable and equipment failures
Even with most of the grid underground, cable, transformer and network protector failures cause occasional localized outages, particularly in dense Manhattan and Bronx networks. Sensors in manholes notify Con Edison when a cable may be getting hot before it fails.
Rapid load growth
About 44% of new business load requests received between May 2024 and April 2025 were for EV charging or electric heat. EV fast-charging installations grew 18% in 2025 to 20 MW. New data centers add to the same growth pressure.
The $4.4 billion New York rate plan
Following a January 2026 rate case settlement with the New York State PSC, Con Edison is rolling out one of the largest capital plans of any U.S. utility, focused on storm hardening, electrification readiness and clean energy integration.
Con Edison investment plan
About $38 billion in capital spending across the system through 2030.
About $72 billion over 10 years across electric, gas and steam utilities.
Roughly $14 billion over three years in CECONY territory under the latest rate plan.
Reliable Clean City program: $505 million in new underground transmission for Brooklyn and Staten Island.
22 new substations planned at CECONY and O&R through 2034.
More than $1 billion in storm fortification since Hurricane Sandy, with additional spending approved through 2029.
The plan also includes a substation complex in eastern Queens to support JFK Airport redevelopment, MTA bus depot electrification and customer electrification in the Jamaica network, plus a clean energy hub in Brooklyn for offshore wind interconnection.
Underground network protection, heat-resilience and EV programs
Smart meters and sensors
Smart meters provide near real-time data to customers and operators. Sensors in manholes detect when a cable may be getting hot, allowing Con Edison to act before the cable fails.
ADMS, FLISR and distribution automation
An advanced distribution management system (ADMS) plus FLISR-style automation aim to lower SAIFI and CAIDI metrics and to host more distributed energy resources without compromising stability.
Storm hardening
Overhead wire circuits are replaced with more resilient aerial cable; switches are added to diversify supply sources; and selected overhead circuits are placed underground to protect them from tree damage. Critical-customer circuits (hospitals, shelters, pumping stations) get the highest priority.
Reliable Clean City and clean energy hubs
New 138 kV underground transmission lines and clean energy hubs unlock pathways for renewable power, including offshore wind, while increasing local reliability in Brooklyn and Staten Island.
Virtual power plants and storage
Virtual power plant and storage programs are targeting hundreds of megawatts of flexible capacity to shave peaks and defer traditional infrastructure upgrades.
ConEd outage map, My ConEd app and energy efficiency tools
Con Edison outage map
Con Edison publishes a public outage map updated in near real-time. Customers can search by address or zip code and follow estimated restoration times, the size of an outage and crew status.
My Account portal and alerts
The Con Edison My Account experience and mobile app let customers report a power outage and sign up for SMS, email and app notifications when service is interrupted.
EV charging and PowerReady
PowerReady and SmartCharge programs help customers, fleets and landlords install and operate EV chargers, with rebates and time-of-use rates that smooth the impact on the grid.
Bill assistance and energy efficiency
Con Edison runs the Energy Affordability Program for income-eligible customers, plus weatherization, heat pump rebates and partnerships with state programs (HEAP, EmPower NY).
National Grid and New York City ISPs
For a wider view of how the U.S. electric grid works and why outages happen, see the U.S. power outage page. The other major utility serving New York and Massachusetts is National Grid. For internet outages across the same New York City footprint, the most common providers are Optimum, Xfinity and Verizon.