Newburgh - Another day of considerable progress was made, with service now restored to about 100,000, or two-thirds of customers who lost electric service as a result of unprecedented back-to-back storms last week. Crews continue to discover new cases of damage and must now address an estimated 1,200 repairs, with many returning service to smaller groups of customers.
As of Sunday evening, approximately 53,000 customers remained without service, located by county as follows: Dutchess: 18,000; Greene: 500; Orange: 18,000; Putnam 1,000; Sullivan: 600; and Ulster: 14,000.
Every Central Hudson employee has been involved in an around-the-clock effort to restore electric service, and are capably being assisted by mutual aid crews from outside the region. A work force of approximately 1,000 people, including repair and tree trimming crews, will continue into the week to rebuild and repair the extraordinary amount of damage in the wake of the largest storm event ever to impact the region. Felled trees, broken poles, and in some areas deep snow must still be addressed, and Central Hudson is working closely with municipalities to clear impassable roadways so that repairs can be made.
Utility officials still believe that the majority of customers will have their service restored by Wednesday at midnight. Some customers located in remote or hard-hit areas, particularly those with road-access difficulties, may not be back on line for several days thereafter, however.
To Report A Power Outage
Those customers with access to a computer or compatible cell phone should report their power outage via the website at
www.CentralHudson.com, in the StormCentral section, where they can also access information regarding the extent of outages; once service restoration estimates become available, they can be found on the website as well.
Customers may also contact the utility by calling (845) 452-2700 or 1 (800) 527-2714 to report a power outage, and they are encouraged to use the automated reporting system to do so. Between Tuesday and Saturday, the utility's telephone system handled 273,000 calls, or the equivalent call volume of a typical three-month period. More than 80 percent of the calls were handled by the utility's automated telephone and Internet-based systems.
Emergency Support
Emergency shelters have been established by the Red Cross and other agencies (see a complete list at
www.CentralHudson.com), and Central Hudson is distributing dry ice and bottled water free of charge. As of Sunday afternoon, Central Hudson had distributed 121,000 pounds of dry ice and 68,200 bottles of water to customers in need. That distribution will continue as long as needed; updated schedules will be made available to local media outlets and will be available on Central Hudson's website,
www.CentralHudson.com, in the StormCentral section.
Important Safety Reminders:
Customers are requested to check on frail or elderly neighbors, relatives or friends - including any who may rely on electrically operated life-sustaining equipment - and encourage them to seek alternate shelter, as it may take several days before their power is restored.
All local residents are reminded to stay clear of downed or sagging wires - they could be lethal. As fallen wires may be hidden by trees or debris, extreme caution should be used when moving through an outage zone. If a power line falls on a vehicle, occupants should stay inside and wait for rescue crews. Customers should not heat their homes with an unvented heater, gas range or any similar appliance, as they can produce deadly carbon monoxide. Generators should be operated only in a vented, dry location; outdoor gas grills should never be used to heat indoors because they pose a fire hazard and can give off deadly carbon monoxide gas.
For updates, safety tips, list of shelter locations and more information on how to prepare for storms, visit
www.CentralHudson.com.
