Power restoration nears completion
The Daily Mail
Dec. 15, 2008

GREENE COUNTY — Central Hudson crews are continuing work to restore power to all customers affected by the ice storm that hit the region last week.

In Greene County, about 250 customers in New Baltimore, Coxsackie and Greenville were still without power this morning. The 22 repairs needed in those areas should be completed by this afternoon, according to Denise VanBuren, a Central Hudson spokesperson. Half of the present outages were caused by strong winds Monday blowing down branches from trees.

VanBuren reported Monday night that service had been restored to all Central Hudson customers in Columbia County.

Since Saturday the company has distributed 40,000 pounds of dry ice in 10-pound blocks to help people in Greene, Columbia and Dutchess counties keep food cold and fresh. Emergency shelters will not be open today and the company will not be distributing more dry ice.

VanBuren said that service restoration has been slow in some areas because crews have had to go into wooded areas or work with tree trimming crews to access downed wires.

“In many cases, entire sections of electric infrastructure are being rebuilt,” Charles A. Freni, the company’s senior vice president of customer services said in a press release.

Freni also expressed appreciation to crews provided by Consolidated Edison and Jersey Central Power & Light, who helped the restoration effort.

VanBuren and Freni commended the patience of Central Hudson customers and thanked municipal officials and crews who have helped clear roads and run shelters.

Customers who have not reported power outages should do so by calling Central Hudson’s automated PowerLine at 845-452-2700 or 1-800-527-2714.