Storm’s 60mph winds, lightning caused mass power outages across Hudson Valley

— Afternoon Update—

Less than 20 hours after a powerful storm with 60 mph wind gusts ripped through the Mid-Hudson Valley, electric service has been restored to nearly 75 percent of impacted customers, according to Central Hudson. Crews continue to restore electric service to homes and businesses, and as of 2 p.m. on Sunday, power has been returned to nearly 24,000 of the initial 32,000 impacted customers. Less than 9,000 remain without service.

Most outages in Dutchess, Orange and Columbia counties are expected to be restored tonight. In hardest-hit Ulster County, more than 6,000 customers remain without service. While crews continue make progress, repair work will continue through Monday night.

Residents are cautioned to use care when traveling, as some roads are closed or blocked by fallen trees and wires. More than 200 damage locations remain, and crews are replacing more than 25 broken poles. More than 300 line and tree personnel are working to restore electric service, and additional crews will be available on Monday.

—-This morning’s report—

A fast moving storm front caused extensive damage to portions of the region’s electric system on Saturday night. Lightning and wind with gusts up to 60 miles per hour downed trees and limbs onto power lines and interrupted electric service to more than 32,000 homes and businesses throughout the Mid-Hudson Valley, according to Central Hudson.

Ulster County sustained the heaviest damage with more than 17,000 service interruptions. The storm also caused more than 7,500 service interruptions in Dutchess County and nearly 4,000 in Central Hudson’s service area within Orange County.

Repair crews worked overnight to restore service to more than 13,000 customer. As of 8 a.m. Sunday morning, about 18,800 customers remain without service, and crews are addressing approximately 300 separate damage locations that include fallen trees, downed lines and broken poles.

More than 70 additional line contract personnel from the Albany-Syracuse area and Massachusetts are anticipated to arrive by noon today to assist Central Hudson and local line and tree contract crews in making repairs. Nearly 300 field forces will be working to restore power throughout the day. While it is expected that electric service will be restored to the majority of customers by tonight, it may be possible repair work will extend into Monday.

Central Hudson offered the following safety tips:

• Stay at least 30 feet away from downed power lines, and remember that lines may be entangled and hidden in fallen trees. Assume all downed lines are live;
• Beware of fallen trees and limbs, and use caution or traveling;
• Avoid the use of candles for illumination;
• 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;
• Never use 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; and
• Operate cars and motor vehicles outdoors only, and never in the garage.

Customers can communicate with Central Hudson and keep abreast of restoration efforts before, during and following storms and emergencies:

• By Phone: Call the PowerLine at (845) 452-2700 or 1-800-527-2714, and use the automated system;
• On the Web: Visit the CenHub – My Accountsection at www.CentralHudson.com to report outages and obtain restoration updates;
• Through Social Media: “Like” Central Hudson on Facebook (www.facebook.com/CentralHudson) and “Follow” on Twitter (www.twitter.com/CentralHudson);
• Via smart phones: A mobile version of the Central Hudson’s website can be accessed by web-enabled cell phones and mobile devices at http://mobile.CentralHudson.com. Free Central Hudson mobile applications for Android, Apple and Blackberry devices are also available by logging onto CentralHudson.com/mobileapp; and
• By text messaging: Customers should enroll in the Central Hudson’s Texting Program to use text messaging (SMS) to report their power condition and obtain repair status. Customers will also receive text messages when a power interruption is predicted to have occurred at their location. To enroll, visit CentralHudson.com/Alerts/.

More information on preparing for storms and emergencies and communicating with Central Hudson is available at www.CentralHudson.com; for information regarding electric and natural gas safety, visit www.CentralHudson.com/Safety.