Cuomo: 600 Solider to help with power restoration downstate - NEWS10 ABC: Albany, New York News, Weather, Sports

Cuomo: 600 Solider to help with power restoration downstate

TROY, N.Y. - On Friday, Governor Andrew Cuomo directed the New York National Guard to deploy an additional 600 soldiers to assist in the restoration of the electrical grid in Westchester and Rockland counties.

The soldiers, assigned to the 42^nd Infantry Division, headquartered in Troy, will begin moving into their area of operations Friday and began their services Friday evening.

The new mobilization will bring the strength of New York National Guard forces deployed in response to Hurricane Sandy to over 3,400. Soldiers will be based at the Camp Smith Training Site just north of Peekskill.

Approximately 100 soldiers will form a command and control and logistics support center for the elements deployed in Westchester and Rockland. The others will work with New York State Electric and Gas, Orange and Rockland Utilities, and Consolidated Edison repair crews.

Thes oldiers will be trained to identify downed power lines and properly mark them so that members of the public are not endangered as the repair process goes forward. Cuomo says allocating soldiers to this mission will free up utility employees to do the important technical work.

Initially about 100 soldiers will be assigned to work with New York State Electric and Gas crews, while 160 will work with Consolidated Edison and 160 will work with Orange and Rockland.