Power outage darkens Hudson Valley homes, mall, utility says

MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. — Power has been restored to most of the 52,000 homes and businesses in New York’s Hudson Valley and nearby Pennsylvania that were darkened on a holiday-season Saturday night.

Orange & Rockland Utilities spokesman Michael Donovan says equipment malfunctioned around 7:30 p.m. in an electric transmission substation in Middletown, New York, about 70 miles north of Manhattan. Fewer than 3,000 customers remained without power early Sunday.

Donovan says the outage was in Orange County, New York, and Pike County, Pennsylvania.

Among those affected was the Galleria at Crystal Run, a large mall in Middletown.

Meanwhile, one of two reactors at the Indian Point nuclear power plant about 45 miles away also was shut down Saturday because several control rods lost power. Donovan says the events are unrelated.