Central Hudson Restoring Electric Service to Customers
Impacted by Powerful Snowstorms

As of Monday morning, electricity had been restored more than 130,000 Central Hudson customers following two storms that interrupted electricity in the largest storm event in the utility’s history. Central Hudson crews worked through the night and fresh teams are in full force today continuing to tackle the approximately 900 small, localized outages that remain. Utility officials still predict that the majority of customers will have their service restored by Wednesday at midnight, as the utility continues to mobilize a field force of 1,000 people.

Of the less than 20,000 customers that remain without service, outages were located by county approximately as follows: Dutchess: 5,500; Greene: 200; Orange: 7,600; Putnam 200; Sullivan: 500; and Ulster: 6,000. Outage locations by municipality may be found in the StormCentral section of the Central Hudson website (www.CentralHudson.com) by clicking in order on the “Outage Map,” “Summary,” and “Outages by County” tabs, and then selecting an individual county to review. Video footage of Central Hudson crews working in the snows of Greene County on snowshoes and other restoration footage can also be viewed in the StormCentral section, beneath the “Whiteout!” tab.

The restoration has now largely shifted from the repair of major facilities and distribution networks to a labor- and time-intensive phase of restoring electricity one neighborhood or street at a time and often even one customer at a time. New cases of trouble continued to be identified as crews work through neighborhoods, and officials are urging residents still without power to contact Central Hudson to report their power condition.

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 are 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 last Tuesday of last week and yesterday (March 1), the utility’s telephone system handled 326,000 calls (as compared to the approximately 15,000 calls that are handled in a routine week). Of those calls, 55,000 spoke with a Customer Service Representative and the balance reported their condition via the utility’s automated system.  In all, 97,000 work orders regarding outages were registered. During that same period, there have been nearly 102,000 hits on the StormCentral section of the Central Hudson website.

Emergency Support

Several emergency shelters continue to be operated 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 Monday evening, 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 continue 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, snow banks 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.

#    #    #