Central Hudson --  working since the earliest onset of an ice storm that caused widespread damage throughout the Hudson Valley -- has established a goal to restore service to approximately 25 percent of those customers impacted by the storm by this evening. The crews are battling broken poles, fallen trees and miles of downed wire after as much as an  inch of ice coated the valley overnight in a storm that is estimated to have left a million homes in New York and New England without power.

Central Hudson estimates that service was interrupted to a total of more than 60,000 customers within the eight counties of its Hudson River Valley service territory; it expects that approximately 45,000 will remain without power as of 10:00 this evening.

Despite round-the-clock restoration efforts, some Central Hudson customers will still be without service through the weekend, and even into late Monday or beyond given the severity of the damage. 

Central Hudson is working in close cooperation with emergency service providers, who have established shelters for those whose homes are without power.  These shelters will be located in:

ULSTER COUNTY: The Kerhonkson Fire Department and the 

SUNY New Paltz Health and Welfare Center

ORANGE COUNTY: Monroe-Woodbury High School

DUTCHESS COUNTY: Arlington Middle School, and Red Hook High School

GREENE COUNTY: Windham, and Hunter at sites to be determined

ALBANY COUNTY: Ravena, at a site to be determined

Central Hudson is obtaining quantities of dry ice to aid in food preservation.  That dry ice should arrive in the service territory for distribution beginning at about noon on Saturday at various sites, yet to be determined.  Announcement of these locations will be made as soon as they are confirmed 

In the meantime, customers are reminded to minimize the opening and closing of refrigerator and freezer doors to retard spoilage.

Central Hudson is seeking mutual aid crews from other utilities, but the widespread nature of the storm, the damage left in its wake, and the impact it has had on so many other neighboring utility companies means that assistance may not arrive until Sunday.

Customers who have not reported their power outage should do so by calling Central Hudson’s automated PowerLine at (845) 452-2700 or 1-800-527-2714. Customers are also reminded to stay away from downed power lines, and to use caution when driving. For more information on restoration efforts and power outage safety, visit www.CentralHudson.com.