ConEd Hit by Virus as Cases in New York Surge Past 100,000

(Bloomberg) -- With coronavirus cases surging in New York, workers at the state’s top power and natural gas supplier are among those hard-hit by the pandemic.

Consolidated Edison Inc. has 170 employees who have tested positive for Covid-19, and three have died, according to spokesman Michael Clendenin. The utility has limited work to emergencies including responding to outages and essential infrastructure upgrades to avoid spreading the virus. The information was first reported by Utility Dive.

New York is the hardest-hit state, with 100,000 cases and 2,935 deaths from the virus. That poses additional risk for people who leave home to provide essential services, including those who are responsible for keeping the lights on.

“This virus has led to too many heartbreaking deaths and illnesses around the world, in America, here in New York, and now at Con Edison. Our thoughts are with our late colleagues’ family and friends,” Clendenin said by email. ConEd, as the utility is known, has 14,500 employees, and more than 7,000 of them are working remotely.

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