Powerful wind gusts that accompanied the first winter storm of the season continued to impact the region throughout the day today, as repair crews restored electric service to an estimated 13,000 customers during the course of the storm since the blizzard began on Sunday afternoon. High winds broke branches and toppled trees onto power lines, causing widely scattered outages mainly in Dutchess, Ulster, Greene and Putnam counties. Crews made substantial progress in restoring power, however reports of new outages were ongoing throughout the duration of the storm, and may continue this evening and overnight as strong winds and gusts are predicted through early Tuesday morning.

At peak, approximately 7,000 customers were reported without power briefly on Monday afternoon. As of 4:00 p.m., nearly 3,700 customers were without power with about 60 individual repairs needed to fully restore electric service. The majority of affected customers are expected to have service restored tonight. Repairs will continue overnight and Tuesday morning, and possibly Tuesday afternoon if additional service interruptions are reported as a result of sustained and continued wind gusts.

Customers without power should 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 or compatible cell phone may report their power condition via the utility’s website, www.CentralHudson.com, by using the StormCentral function. There, they can also access information regarding the extent of outages and service restoration estimates as they become available.

 Customers are again reminded to check on frail or elderly neighbors, relatives or friends, and to stay clear of downed or sagging wires. Do not heat homes with an unvented heater, gas range or similar appliance, and never use outdoor gas grills to heat indoor spaces, as these pose a fire hazard and can give off deadly carbon monoxide gas. Similarly, generators should be operated only in vented, dry locations.

For more safety tips during storms and power interruptions, see the StormCentral section of www.CentralHudson.com.

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