Community Update

Aug 31, 11:59 am

Conserve Energy, Prevent Outages

Summer's not quite over and we still have at least a few more days of
hot weather. Residents and businesses in Flushing have already
suffered from at least four electrical outages this summer.  Attached
below are some news reports.
 

Council Member John Liu continues to call on the energy utility
company to rapidly upgrade the area's electrical infrastructure
particularly in light of sustained growth in the area. At the same
time, we urge everyone to conserve energy to help forestall additional
disruptions
to our power supply. Energy saving tips from the U.S. Department of
Energy are available at http://www1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/.
 

Agnes Kim
Office of Council Member John C. Liu
 

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NEW YORK TIMES: "Queens: Brief Power Failure in Flushing"
<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/07/nyregion/07mbrfs-power.html?ex=1187...>
 

EXCERPT -
A malfunction in overhead power lines caused a 58-minute power failure
yesterday afternoon that affected 968 residential and business
customers in Flushing, a Consolidated Edison spokesman said. The
spokesman, Chris Olert, said power went out at 1:32 p.m. and was
restored at 2:30 p.m. Councilman John C. Liu, above, who represents
the area, said about 5,000 people were affected. Mr. Liu said it was
at least the fourth blackout in Flushing in the past nine weeks. "The
frequency of these blackouts, albeit troubling, is not surprising," he
said in a statement.
 

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FORBES MAGAZINE: "Brief Power Outage in Queens"
<http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/08/06/ap3992179.html>
 

EXCERPT -
City Councilman John Liu, who represents the area, said the number of
customers represented about 5,000 people.
 

"This is at least the fourth blackout to hit the Flushing area within
the past nine weeks. The frequency of these blackouts, albeit
troubling, is not surprising," Liu said in a statement. "Residents had
demanded upgrades to the power grid last summer as well as earlier
this summer when the first blackout hit in June."
 

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NEW YORK POST: "Power Fails in Queens"
<http://www.nypost.com/seven/08072007/news/regionalnews/power_fails_in...>
 

EXCERPT -
A malfunction in overhead power lines caused a 58-minute outage that
affected 968 customers in Flushing yesterday. Con Edison spokesman
Chris Olert, said power went out at 1:32 p.m.
 

City Councilman John Liu, who represents the area, said the number of
customers represented about 5,000 people.
 

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WCBS-TV: "Con Ed: Queens Power Outage Affects 968 Customers"
<http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_218155523.html>
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1010 WINS RADIO: "Con Ed: Queens Power Outage Affects 968 Customers"
<http://www.1010wins.com/pages/767388.php>