Crews continue to make progress in restoring electric service in the wake of an icy winter storm that impacted northeastern Dutchess County and southern Columbia county. Power has been restored to approximately 8,000 customers since the start of the storm Sunday night. As of noon today, an estimated 5,300 customers in Dutchess County and 1,500 in Columbia County are without service.

In total, about 170 line and tree trimming crews are clearing roads and repairing lines in the hard-hit area, including more than 40 contractor line crews and 78 tree trimming crews supplementing Central Hudson’s forces.

While the utility expects to make significant progress today, it is anticipated that restoration will continue throughout the week. Electric service is expected to be restored to a substantial majority of affected customers by Wednesday night, and crews will continue to work on Thursday to address remaining outages in outlying areas.

Central Hudson is distributing bottled water and dry ice at the Pine Plains Fire Dept. on 7 Lake Road, off Route 82. Bottled water is available now, and dry ice is expected to become available by 1:30 p.m.

Customers are also reminded to stay clear of downed or sagging wires and check on frail or elderly neighbors, relatives or friends. Do not heat homes with unvented heaters, gas ranges or outdoor grills, as these pose a fire hazard and can give off deadly carbon monoxide gas. Similarly, generators should be operated only in a dry, vented location.

Information regarding service restoration estimates, as it becomes available, can be obtained by phone and on-line via StormCentral at www.CentralHudson.com, 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 http://mobile.CentralHudson.com.

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