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Power is back for nearly 85 percent of customers impacted by the storm, and crews restored service to more than 27,000 on Sunday. As of 6 p.m., approximately 3,500 customers remain without power, with most, about 2,500, in Ulster County.
Crews are now addressing some of the more heavily damaged and isolated locations, and each repair will restore power to fewer customers. Electric service is expected to be restored in most areas of Dutchess and Orange counties Sunday night, and some repairs may extend into Monday. In Ulster County, crews will continue to restore service tonight and will work through Monday night. In all, nearly 140 damage locations remain, and crews continue to clear roads, repair lines and are replacing 25 broken poles.
More than 300 line and tree personnel are working to restore electric service, and additional crews will be available on Monday.
Ulster County sustained the heaviest damage with more than 17,000 service interruptions. The storm also caused more than 7,500 service interruptions in Dutchess County and nearly 4,000 in Central Hudson’s service area within Orange County.
During service restorations, customers are reminded to:
- Stay at least 30 feet away from downed power lines, and remember that lines may be entangled and hidden in fallen trees. Assume all downed lines are live;
- Beware of fallen trees and limbs, and use caution or traveling;
- Avoid the use of candles for illumination;
- Follow the manufacturer’s safety instructions on the use of emergency generators, and be sure to shut off the main breaker when in use and operate the units outdoors;
- Never use outdoor gas or charcoal grills indoors, as they pose a fire hazard and over time can give off deadly carbon monoxide gas. Use these appliances only outdoors with proper ventilation; and
- Operate cars and motor vehicles outdoors only, and never in the garage.
Customers can communicate with Central Hudson and keep abreast of restoration efforts before, during and following storms and emergencies:
By phone: call the PowerLine at (845) 452-2700 or 1-800-527-2714, and use the automated system;
On the web: visit the CenHub - My Account section at www.CentralHudson.com to report outages and obtain restoration updates.
Through Social Media: “Like” Central Hudson on Facebook (www.facebook.com/CentralHudson) and “Follow” on Twitter (www.twitter.com/CentralHudson).
Via smart phones: A mobile version of the Central Hudson’s website can be accessed by web-enabled cell phones and mobile devices at http://mobile.CentralHudson.com. Free Central Hudson mobile applications for Android, Apple and Blackberry devices are also available by logging onto CentralHudson.com/mobileapp.
By text messaging: Customers should enroll in the Central Hudson’s Texting Program to use text messaging (SMS) to report their power condition and obtain repair status. Customers will also receive text messages when a power interruption is predicted to have occurred at their location. To enroll, visit CentralHudson.com/Alerts.
More information on preparing for storms and emergencies and communicating with Central Hudson is available at www.CentralHudson.com.
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