Repairs will take a week to 10 days, the utility said.
The utility said the Presidential order would not change that.
But power should be restored to most people by tonight, the utilities said.
The utility has said it wants a price "well north of L9" a share.
But the utility said it believed evidence from other hot days last summer indicated a record would be set this year.
Power usage in the city for the day was the third highest on record, the utility said.
The utility says it must be ready to face the inevitable.
But some people may not have power until the middle of next week, the utility has said.
The utilities said they expected to achieve savings of about $2 billion over 10 years.
But all four utilities say they are now going back to the basics.