Central Hudson claims substantial progress made in service restoration overnight
Philipstown appeared to escape the worst impact of the line of storms that swept across the Hudson Valley and upstate New York last evening. As of 9:00 a.m. this morning all main roads were open and there were no reports of significant damage. A few trees and many branches fell in the approximately 30-minute burst of strong winds and rain at about 6:30 p.m.
Power was lost in much of Philipstown for about six hours. Approximately 400 residents in North Highlands were still without power this morning.
Central Hudson released the following statement this morning on conditions locally and in the region.
Power was restored to nearly 19,000 customers last night and this morning in the wake of a destructive storm system that moved through the Mid-Hudson Valley yesterday, bringing strong winds, rain and lightning, and interrupting electric service to a total of more than 34,000 Central Hudson customers. The most heavily damaged areas were in central and southern Dutchess County, where more than 20,000 customers were affected. Portions of southern Ulster, Orange and Putnam counties were also impacted, where service was interrupted to approximately 5,000, 4,000 and 2,000 customers, respectively.
Utility crews worked overnight to clear roads and repair damage, and as of 6:30 a.m. this morning, the approximately 14,000 outages remain in:
Dutchess County: 9,551
Orange County: 2,670
Ulster County: 1,728
Putnam County: 424
Crews will continue to work throughout the day to restore service by addressing the approximately 360 individual damage locations caused by the storm. Central Hudson estimates electric service will be restored to most customers by tonight, and crews will continue to work on Saturday to complete remaining repairs.
Customers are reminded to call Central Hudson’s PowerLine at (845) 452-2700 or 1-800-527-2714 to report their power condition if they have not already done so, and are encouraged to use the automated reporting system. Customers with access to a computer may also report their power condition via CentralHudson.com by using the StormCentral function. Information regarding service restoration estimates, as it becomes available, can be obtained by phone and on-line, and updates are posted on Facebook and Twitter. A mobile version of the utility’s website, including StormCentral, can be accessed by web-enabled cell phones and mobile devices at CentralHudson.com. Free Central Hudson mobile applications for Android, Apple and Blackberry devices are also available by logging onto CentralHudson.com/mobileapp.
Customers are advised to keep safety in mind during any storm emergency, including:
- Keeping away from downed power lines, and lines which may be entangled and hidden in fallen trees. Assume all downed lines are live;
- Avoiding the use of candles for illumination;
- Following the manufacturer’s safety instructions on the use of emergency generators, and operating the units outdoors; and
- Never using outdoor gas or charcoal grills indoors, as they pose a fire hazard and over time can give off deadly carbon monoxide gas. Use these appliances only outdoors with proper ventilation. Similarly, operate cars and motor vehicles outdoors only, and never in the garage.
