Some New York residents without power might have to wait another week.
Con Edison said it plans to restore power to the vast majority of affected customers by the weekend of November 10 and 11, citing "unprecedented damage" caused by Hurricane Sandy.
Some restorations may take an additional week or more, the company warned, but did not specify where the delays might occur.
On Thursday, there were 649,000 Con Edison customers without service in New York City and Westchester County.
The company expects to restore service to customers in mid to lower Manhattan by Saturday.
Con Edison released a statement on its website:
NEW YORK – Con Edison said today that based on an assessment of the unprecedented damage caused by Hurricane Sandy, it expects to restore the vast majority of customers who lost power by the weekend of Nov. 10 and 11. The remaining customer restorations could take an additional week or more.
About 900,000 customers served by underground and overhead electrical distribution equipment in New York City and Westchester County lost power due to the superstorm that walloped the area.
Con Edison crews have restored power to about 250,000 customers who were affected by the storm. As of 11 a.m., the company was working to restore power to about 650,000 customers still out of service.
Customers served by underground networks in Mid- to Lower Manhattan who lost power during the storm will have service by this Saturday.
Crews restoring service in those underground areas have pumped massive amounts of water out of the facilities. They must also clean all components of the seawater from the equipment. Equipment must be dried, repaired or replaced, and inspected before it can be safely put back into service.
In areas served by overhead electrical distribution equipment, crews have had to contend with more than 100,000 downed wires, as well as blocked roads and flooding.
But Con Edison is marshalling resources from near and far to conduct the largest customer restoration in its history. The company has commitments from more than 1,600 external contractors and mutual aid workers from as far west as California.
Most of these contractor and mutual aid crews have already arrived and the rest are expected to arrive in the next few days. Crews specialize in tree cutting, repairing overhead lines and underground equipment, as well damage assessments.
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Customers should use extreme caution before going into a flooded basement. Know whether there are electrified services or unsanitary conditions and wear high rubber boots. Also, know how deep the water is and probe it with a wooden stick, if necessary, to gauge the depth. Keep children out of flooded basements.Con Edison has assigned 1,000 site safety workers to monitor areas where there may be hazards.