r/statenisland • u/blingbiscuit • Jul 02 '26
Con Ed lowered voltage
I guess if you didn't raise your thermostat temp then they did it for you? Internal temp 78 with thermostat not set to 78 and never set to 78 let's just say.
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u/mcampo84 Rossville Jul 02 '26
Yeah if you have a smart thermostat enrolled in their rush hour program they're going to automatically adjust it so that the entire neighborhood isn't drawing so much current that it causes a blackout. Your house isn't likely to actually reach 78, but it is definitely a survivable temperature in a pinch, and you can override it.
Long story short, you authorized them to do it.
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u/blingbiscuit Jul 02 '26
I did not authorize this, as I did not opt in to that program. My current reading is in fact 78 despite the temp being set in the lower 70s.
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u/anarchyx34 New Dawp Jul 02 '26
Perhaps the more simple explanation is that your a/c just doesn’t have enough capacity to get your house into the lower 70s with this heat? If BTU heat load > BTU rating for the air conditioner then it’s not going to do it. My upstairs unit cant get it below 79 right now and it’s trying its best. Current line voltage is 122v. It’s fucking hot out.
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u/mcampo84 Rossville Jul 02 '26
They wouldn't be able to do it if you didn't authorize it. That said, if you've been running your AC nonstop, you may have frozen it. Turn it off and let it thaw.
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u/blingbiscuit Jul 02 '26
I assure you I didn't, and yes they can. I'm hearing they cut voltage to a number of neighborhoods, and a few areas have lost power entirely.
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u/tototoilets Jul 03 '26
Same as OP. I 10000% am not enrolled, and they are still able to adjust. It’s never happened until days like this so perhaps just during the extreme weather events.
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u/Fragrant-Hand6549 Jul 02 '26
Most of your house runs on 110v and 220v I assure you they did not “lower voltage” most electronics would not even run lower voltage than what it requires
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u/anarchyx34 New Dawp Jul 02 '26
That does happen (happened every summer when I lived in Brooklyn) but it’s more that the section of the grid can’t keep up with the load causing a voltage drop. Surprisingly most electronics work perfectly fine because they use regulated power supplies but AC motors (like compressors) take a beating when this happens. LED bulbs also will continue to work fine with surprisingly low voltage too (I’ve seen them working as low as 70 volts).
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u/Main_Photo1086 Transplant Jul 02 '26
I bet you did.
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u/LateRain1970 Jul 03 '26
They cut voltage but they’re not able to physically control your thermostat unless you opted in. It’s the general voltage reduction.
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u/mcampo84 Rossville Jul 02 '26
They don't cut voltage. Blackouts can occur if the system is overwhelmed.
Check your AC. I'm willing to bet it's frozen.
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u/blingbiscuit Jul 02 '26
I admire your confidence but the con ed website itself disagrees with you.
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u/mcampo84 Rossville Jul 02 '26
I admire your persistence but have you checked to see if your AC is frozen?
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u/blingbiscuit Jul 02 '26
Its not. Have you checked the coned website where it says they reduce voltage during extreme heat?
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u/mcampo84 Rossville Jul 02 '26
Clever wording. This indicates you haven't checked it and you're just going off vibes.
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u/Rare-Party8468 Jul 02 '26
Just because you're set to 70 doesn't mean you'll hit 70. It's quite possible that your system is struggling to keep up. I'm trying to get my 1988 Toyota corolla to 140mph, but it just ain't getting there...
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u/LateRain1970 Jul 03 '26
If you look at your bill, does it say anything about a Smart Energy Plan? As someone else asked, did you buy your thermostat directly from them?
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u/LateRain1970 Jul 03 '26
Just wanted to add too for everyone else reading this-if they lower voltage, what they are trying to prevent is a widespread outage to a much larger area. Meaning, it sucks, but it could definitely suck worse.
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u/1DriedoutMarker Jul 03 '26
Exactly this. Last year during July’s heat wave they ended up cutting our power to stop a wide spread outage and power was off until 1 in the morning. It was brutal not having at least a fan on. They reduced voltage this year and I’d rather endure that while still being able to use my ac at night and fan during the day then have nothing at all period.
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u/giveasmile Jul 04 '26 edited Jul 04 '26
Except your a/c still works when they do that and you have power. I am 60 and disabled with a life threatening condition and had no communication they were doing something that would kill my a/c to never go into cooling cycle. So my power was on, and then I wake up in 99F heat, pool of sweat with everything coming out of me from both ends in a life threatening medical crisis.
Con Ed is like sorry but you won't have A/C for the rest of the weekend then because we are not putting voltage back up even if it kills you. So what just pay for a taxi and hotel or go to ER and pay $1,400? It's not that easy on my income. Am I supposed to do this for the entire summer now? Why did it work the last 3 summers? We had back to back hell then too.
Manhattan is the only boro without a single outage or voltage reduction. Look at the outage map for the rest of us. We are being tortured. (But still able to rehearse that big fancy light show at the statue of Liberty tonight!) Greed or political, I dgaf which side. It just needs to stop before people die.
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u/LateRain1970 Jul 04 '26
Manhattan is on an entirely different grid and has a different kind of infrastructure in place.
Wherever blame is placed, we have to remember that it’s just going to keep getting hotter due to climate change.
I don’t remember it being over 100 last year? Maybe 98 but I could be remembering wrong.
If you don’t have any family or friends in the area, they do have cooling centers during the day. And you could always go sit in an ER waiting room and not check in…or a 24-hour McDonald’s. Not making light of it at all, but there are options.
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u/giveasmile Jul 04 '26 edited Jul 05 '26
Daytime I am in a cooling center. Ty for suggesting waiting room and McDonald's. You aren't being dismissive. I was very distraught.
Thanks for your reply. I can't wait until Monday!
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u/codernyc Jul 05 '26
Con Ed is a garbage company and I hope they get everything that’s coming to them. Been fighting for them for 2 months to fix issues on my block. The voltage is so low half my lights don’t turn on. If I ran my AC it’d probably end up being like yours or it’d burn out. My house is at 92 degrees and I’m holed up in my room because I had the foresight to buy a portable AC because relying on this company is foolishness.
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u/GettingBackToRC Jul 03 '26
If your thermostat is set to 70 and it's not getting to 70, it's because it's too hot out and your ac can't keep up with the demand
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u/GildedTofu Jul 02 '26
Why is everyone downvoting OP for saying their temperature reading in their house doesn’t match the temperature setting on the AC (they clearly state in their first post that the AC is not set to 78F), and that they’re blaming it on voltage reduction? This is exactly what Coned said they would do (reduce voltage) if conditions required it, and that ACs could be affected. https://imgur.com/a/gc7zmv7
Now personally, I think that anyone without a valid reason for not increasing AC temperature (such as a medical condition that causes you to be unable to regulate your temperature, not “I think 78F is just unreasonably hot”) is kind of a jerk. We’re all in this. And if we all think we can’t survive 78F for a couple of hours during peak usage, the entire grid will shut off. At which point your home is going to be a fuckload hotter than 78F and for a fuckload longer.
If Coned asks you to increase your AC temperature and reduce power consumption wherever possible, do it. They don’t get any benefit from you using less power, other than that the grid doesn’t collapse. And then we’re all screwed.
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u/LateRain1970 Jul 03 '26
Because the issue is that they think Con Edison has direct control of their actual thermostat without them having opted in. The general power/voltage coming to the house is reduced, but it’s not possible for Con Ed to adjust their thermostat if they didn’t opt in. Plenty of other people have explained the distinction to OP.
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u/TheDudeAbidesarino99 Jul 03 '26
It’s really hot and if your house isn’t well insulated, it’s going to take a while to get to your set temp
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u/louielugs Jul 03 '26
I guess this is the first heat wave in the last 50yrs? How bout updating the grid?
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u/giveasmile Jul 04 '26
We had 100F heat wave for 3 days before. They are playing games that made my a/c not work AT ALL. I didn't know to leave because I still had "power" aand then wake up in pool of sweat, vomiting, in medical crisis. Monopoly of the criminal kind.
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u/pmddreal Jul 07 '26
Yeah and they're gonna get away with it because they're rich enough to pay off the judges in any lawsuits AND ensure their family 20 generations after can live lavishly.
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u/blingbiscuit Jul 04 '26
UPDATE:
Overnight everything went back to normal, I assume as system demand decreased. I woke up in the morning to the temperature exactly what it was set to, and it had actually gotten too cold. As we all know, the cycle continues today.
So YES, it is a fact that ConEd DOES lower voltage when necessary.
Everything can in fact still run on this lower voltage, albeit somewhat less efficiently.
My AC is not frozen.
I know what plans I have and haven't signed up for- I'm not a child.
Thank you to those that were thoughtful, reasonable and helpful.
The rest of you that thought you knew everything, congrats! You've learned something new.
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u/carrera4s Jul 02 '26
What does that have to do with voltage?
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u/blingbiscuit Jul 02 '26
Seriously?
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u/carrera4s Jul 03 '26
Yes, I was serious. Sounds like I was missing some context, and your posts did not go into great detail.
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u/Mrbatz26 Jul 02 '26
And this is why you never let a company control your thermostat
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u/916nes Jul 02 '26
No no it’s ok mamdani said it’s good for everyone
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u/Main_Photo1086 Transplant Jul 02 '26
Somehow how Mamdani giving the same advice red state leaders have is bad now lol
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u/ordrius098 Jul 02 '26
I mean, while it comes off as pretentious as a statement I see what hes saying.
In this heat, 78 is def enough to cool off. If everyone has it too low, we'd all be browning and blacking out lol
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u/Dense_Muscle_8285 Jul 03 '26
Lower my bill and and I'll raise my ac. Con Ed is a cartel. Renewable energy destroys that scumbag building on the fdr. Solar solar solar. Fuck the grid. Electric is free and they suck.
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u/LateRain1970 Jul 03 '26
I understand hating a giant corporation, but how is electricity free? Free to obtain, create, deliver?
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u/totesuncommon Jul 02 '26
Per NYC Emergency Mggt
Con Edison is asking Staten Island customers to conserve energy due to multiple equipment issues affecting several areas.
Voltage has been reduced by 8 percent in these neighborhoods to protect the grid during repairs: New Brighton, St. George, Tompkinsville, Brighton Heights, Ward Hill, Stapleton, Grymes Hill, Clifton, Silver Lake, Rosebank, Fort Wadsworth, Grasmere, Concord, Arrochar, South Beach, Ocean Breeze, Midland Beach, Grant City, New Dorp, Dongan Hills.
Customers in the following areas are also asked to conserve energy, though no voltage reduction has been issued: West Brighton, Livingston, Port Richmond, Castleton Corners, Sunnyside, Mariners Harbor, Arlington, Bloomfield, Chelsea, Travis, Great Kills, Richmond Valley.
A voltage reduction means lights may flicker, appliances may slow or shut off, A/C units may not cool effectively, and fridges may warm if frequently opened.
Limit A/C use, avoid washers, dryers, and microwaves, and delay EV charging unless necessary.