POUGHKEEPSIE – Con Edison and Orange & Rockland Utilities have sent 85 contractor workers and 56 trucks to help Central Hudson Gas & Electric restore power to customers affected by this week’s storm.
Con Edison and O&R flew the workers into the area from Louisiana and Florida in anticipation of the storm.
But when the late-winter Nor’easter proved to have less impact than predicted, Con Edison and O&R sent the workers, 48 overhead line trucks and eight pick-up trucks to assist their hard-hit neighbor to the north, Central Hudson.
The trucks are part of the large, new fleet at the Con Edison/O&R Mutual Aid Center in Pomona. The companies established the site to store trucks for use by outside workers who are flown into the area.
The pre-staged trucks speed up restoration because the companies can eliminate the wait time created by the contractors driving their own vehicles from distant locations. Contractors from Texas, for example, take three days to drive into New York.
