Central Hudson Restoring Electric Service to Customers
Impacted by Powerful Snowstorms
Repair efforts in last stages, largely focused on individual streets and homes
With electricity restored to more than 95 percent of the 150,000 Central Hudson customers impacted by last week’s unprecedented storms, repair work is in the last stages. Central Hudson crews, supplemented by mutual aid crews from outside the region, continued to make progress today in the aftermath of the largest storm event in the utility’s history. Crews must now contend with the hundreds of remaining localized outages as they restore service street by street, neighborhood by neighborhood, and even individual home by home. Utility officials expect that service will be restored to the vast majority of remaining customers by Wednesday night.
Of the less than 7,000 customers that remain without service Tuesday evening, outages were located by county approximately as follows: Dutchess: 1,800; Greene: 20; Orange: 2,900; Putnam 140; Sullivan: 350; and Ulster: 1,600. 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.
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. Customers having repair work performed by their electrical contractor should also call Central Hudson when that work is completed, so that a crew can be deployed to restore service.
To Report a Power Outage
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
Since last week, Central Hudson had distributed 121,000 pounds of dry ice and 68,200 bottles of water to customers in need at 14 separate locations. As electric service has been restored to most customers, the distribution centers will be discontinued.
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 and more information on service restoration, visit www.CentralHudson.com.
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