Central Hudson Gas & Electric is in the process of completing service restoration efforts to customers who were impacted by Monday’s damaging wind gusts. Strong winds toppled limbs and trees, causing outages to more than 24,000 homes and businesses in Central Hudson’s service area. As of 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, approximately 900 customers are without power with the majority of outages located in Ulster County.

“We appreciate our customers’ patience as we make repairs as safely and efficiently as possible. We made significant progress restoring power to homes and businesses during the day and evening on Monday,” said Ryan Hawthorne, Assistant Vice President of Electric Engineering and Operations. “We continue to work on the restoration and expect to have the vast majority of our customers restored no later than 6 p.m. this evening.”

Hawthorne reminded residents to exercise caution, keep at least 30 feet away from any downed lines, and remember that powerlines can become entangled and hidden in fallen limbs. Residents should assume any downed line is live.

With Election Day activities underway, Central Hudson is prepared to respond to outages that may occur at polling places throughout the territory.

Please be advised that Central Hudson’s electric line crews and support staff are practicing social distancing to keep our employees and the public safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hawthorne is advising residents to keep safety in mind, particularly during power interruptions:

· 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 when 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 cenhud.com/mobileapp;