Two-thirds of Central Hudson Gas & Electric customers impacted by Tropical Storm Isaias have had service restored within 36 hours after heavy rains and damaging winds battered the area on Tuesday. More than 115,000 homes and businesses experienced outages as a result of the storm, making it the fourth-most severe to impact the region in Central Hudson’s history. As of 7:00 a.m. on Thursday morning, roughly 38,000 are without electrical service, the majority of which are located in Orange County and Southern Dutchess County:
The majority of service outages are located in Orange County and Southern Dutchess County:
- Dutchess County: 16,812
- Orange County: 14,468
- Putnam County: 2,050
- Ulster County: 3,900
Central Hudson has a force of more than 600 electric line and tree personnel, with more than 100 additional mutual aid workers expected to arrive today to continue to address the nearly 1,200 damage locations. Since the start of the storm, Central Hudson crews have been addressing more than 1,600 reports of wires down and repairing 91 broken utility poles. Central Hudson anticipates 90 percent of homes and businesses will have power restored by 11:30 p.m. on Friday, August 7.
“Our crews continue to make significant progress in restoring electrical services to our customers. We appreciate everyone’s patience as we work to recover from this historic storm,” said Ryan Hawthorne, Assistant Vice President of Electric Engineering and Operations at Central Hudson. “We also want to thank the emergency responders as well as our municipal, county and state officials for their assistance and support.”
All workers are adhering to the latest CDC guidelines and practicing social distancing for the safety of the public and utility personnel. Customers are asked to maintain social distancing with one another and Central Hudson field personnel as they repair storm damage, Hawthorne said.
Regular ice and water distribution will be available beginning at noon today, until 5:00 p.m. at the following locations. Customers are advised to bring coolers to transport or store the ice.
- Poughkeepsie Home Depot, 3470 North Rd., Poughkeepsie 12601 (Stage between Home Depot and Ocean State Job Lot)
- Newburgh Armory, 321 S. William St., Newburgh 12550
- East Fishkill Town Hall, 330 Route 376, Hopewell Junction 12533
Hawthorne urged customers to keep safety in mind, particularly during power interruptions:
- 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;
- Never use outdoor gas or charcoal grills indoors, as they pose a fire hazard and over time can give off carbon monoxide gas;
- Beware of fallen trees and limbs, and use caution or traveling;
- Avoid the use of candles for illumination due to fire hazards;
- 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;
- Operate cars and motor vehicles outdoors only, and never inside the garage; and
- Avoid travel along roadways as hazardous conditions may cause driving accidents, including those involving utility poles which may cause power interruptions.
Customers can stay informed of storm and restoration conditions in the following ways:
- By text messaging: Customers should enroll in Central Hudson’s Texting Program to use text messaging to report their power condition and to obtain repair status. To enroll, visit CentralHudson.com/Alerts or text REG to 236483;
- On the Web: Visit CentralHudson.com/Storms to report outages and obtain restoration updates;
- Via smart phones: A mobile version of the Central Hudson’s website can be accessed by web-enabled cell phones and mobile devices at https://mobile.CenHud.com. Free Central Hudson mobile applications for Android and Apple and are also available by logging onto com/mobileapp;
- Through social media: “Like” Central Hudson on Facebook (Facebook.com/CentralHudson) and “Follow” on Twitter (www.Twitter.com/CentralHudson);
- By phone: Call the Central Hudson PowerLine at (845) 452-2700 or 1-800-527-2714, and please use the automated system to report or monitor your power condition.
More information on preparing for storms and emergencies and communicating with Central Hudson is available at www.CentralHudson.com; for information regarding electric and natural gas safety, visit www.CentralHudson.com/Safety.
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Central Hudson crews worked into the night to restore electrical service to customers, here in the Cold Spring area.