POUGHKEEPSIE - Electric service has been restored to 94,000, or more than 90 percent, of Central Hudson customers by Friday morning, exceeding the utility’s goal to restore 90 percent by 11 p.m. by nearly a day. “We’re very proud of the work our employees, mutual aid crews and contractors have done to quickly and safely restore electric service to the vast majority of our customers impacted by this devastating storm,” said James Laurito, President of Central Hudson. “We know, however, that we still have much work to do, and will continue to focus on bringing back power to the rest of our customers.”

Crews continue to restore electric service in the wake of Tropical Storm Sandy, and as of 7 a.m. Friday, approximately 9,100 power outages remain, with 290 in Putnam County; 400 in Dutchess County; 680 in Sullivan County; 2,100 in Orange County; and 5,700 in Ulster County.

“Crews are still addressing areas that have sustained considerable damage by this powerful storm,” said Laurito. Since the start of the storm, the utility identified more than 170 broken poles and 1,100 instances of downed wires, much of which has been repaired.

“With most of the large outage cases addressed, we’ve reached the point where each repair will restore power to fewer and fewer customers,” said Laurito. “Many of the remaining damage locations are off-road and are often difficult to access. At this stage, service restoration is both time and labor-intensive, as crews may spend hours repairing lines to restore service to just a few customers. With many cases of fallen trees and broken poles remaining, there is still much work to do,” he said.

“We estimate there are more than 500 distinct damage locations that must be repaired by our field forces, and we’ll keep working around the clock until service is restored to everyone. We expect the majority of remaining repairs will be completed by Saturday night, and that some work will continue on Sunday.”

Customers should call Central Hudson’s PowerLine at (845) 452-2700 or 1-800-527-2714 to report their power condition, and they are encouraged to use the automated reporting system. Customers with access to a computer may also report their power condition via www.CentralHudson.com by using the StormCentral function.

Dry ice and water available for customers


(GOSHEN, NY) – Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation is distributing dry ice and bottled water to their customers in Orange County today, Friday, November 2, 2012 at the following location:

Newburgh Home Depot
1220 Route 300
Newburgh NY 12550
Hours: 12 p.m. (noon) through 4 p.m.

A full list of locations is available at www.CentralHudson.com; customers without Internet access can call (845) 486-5796 to hear a recording of locations

Customers should call Central Hudson’s PowerLine at (845) 452-2700 or 1-800-527-2714 to report their power condition, and they are encouraged to use the automated reporting system. Customers with access to a computer may also report their power condition via www.CentralHudson.com by using the StormCentral function.