EXHIBIT 99 (i) 10

                                                              December 12, 2000

For Release:   Immediately

      Central Hudson Customers To Benefit from Sale of Nine Mile Point 2 Nuclear
Plant (POUGHKEEPSIE, NY) Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation has agreed to
sell its 9 percent  interest  in the Nine Mile Point 2 Nuclear  Plant in Scriba,
New York,  to  Constellation  Nuclear as part of a sale  announced by the site's
cotenants  after a  competitive  auction.  The  Poughkeepsie-based  utility will
receive $74 million for its 9 percent share of the 1,148-megawatt plant. Of this
purchase  price,  $32 million will be paid at closing and another $42 million in
principal and interest  payments will be paid in five annual  installments.  All
payments are subject to purchase price  adjustments  at the time of closing.  As
part of the agreement,  the co-tenants will sell 82 percent of Nine Mile 2 for a
total  purchase  price of $677 million,  one of the highest values ever received
for a nuclear plant.

      "Our customers benefit from this sale in two primary ways. First, the sale
means that Central Hudson will have no 'stranded  costs' that will be built into
the delivery  rates of many other  electric  utilities for years to come.  These
sale proceeds,  when combined with those from the sale of our fossil-fuel units,
mean that no  Central  Hudson  customer  will pay what is called a  'Competitive
Transition Charge' to recover the costs of investments made during the regulated
era,  "said  Arthur  Upright,  Senior  Vice  President.  "That will help to keep
delivery rates as low as possible.

      "Secondly,  we negotiated a Purchase Power  Agreement to buy 90 percent of
the  electricity  we  currently  receive from the plant for the next 10 years in
order to help  stabilize the price of electricity  for our customers.  That will
have enormous value during those critical  years,  while New York's  deregulated
electric market matures."


284 South Avenue        Poughkeepsie, NY 12601-4879     Telephone (914) 471-8323



      Nine Mile Point 2 began  producing  electricity  in 1988.  Niagara  Mohawk
Power  Corporation,  which  also owns the  adjoining  Nine Mile Point 1, owns 41
percent of Unit 2 and is the  operator of both  plants.  The Nuclear  Regulatory
Commission,  the New York State Public  Service  Commission,  the Federal Energy
Regulatory  Commission  and  other  regulatory  bodies  must  approve  the sale.
Completion is expected by mid-2001.

      Central  Hudson  invested a total of $528 million in Nine Mile Point 2. In
1987, its shareholders absorbed a $169 million, or 32 percent, write-off of this
investment,  and through depreciation the plant's book cost has declined further
to approximately $295 million.  It is estimated that there will be approximately
$290 million in  premium-above-book  value  received from the auction of Central
Hudson's  fossil-fuel  generating units. These funds, along with the proceeds of
the sale  announced  today,  will be applied to the remaining  book value of the
Nine Mile Pont 2 investment.

      "We had  invested  in our  fossil-fuel  generating  units at  Roseton  and
Danskammer  to  ensure  that they were  among the  best-performing  units in the
region.  The market  recognized  this,  and as a result,  we received one of the
highest prices in the nation for those units. Now, a portion of the profits from
that enormously successful sale will be combined with the proceeds from the sale
of Nine Mile Point 2 to eliminate any stranded costs for our customers, "Upright
explained.  "In fact,  we have created a significant  pool of customer  benefits
from the combined sale of the fossil and nuclear plants."

                                           # # #
Statements  included in this press release  which are not  historical in nature,
are intended to be, and are hereby identified as,  "forward-looking  statements"
for  purposes  of the safe  harbor  provided  by Section  21E of the  Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended by Public Law 104-67, and within the meaning of
the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Forward-looking statements may be
identified by words including  "anticipate,"  "believe," "intends," "estimates,"
"expect,"  and  similar   expressions.   The  Company   cautions   readers  that
forward-looking statements,  including without limitation, those relating to the
Company's  future  business  prospects,  revenues,  proceeds,  working  capital,
liquidity,  income and margins,  are subject to certain risks and  uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the
forward-looking  statements,  due to several  important  factors including those
identified from  time-to-time  in the Company's  reports filed with the SEC. All
forward-looking  statements  are  intended  to be  subject  to the  safe  harbor
protections  provided by the laws mentioned above. A number of important factors
affecting  the  Company's  business  and  financial  results  could cause actual
results  to  differ   materially  from  those  stated  in  the   forward-looking
statements.   Those  factors   include   weather,   energy  supply  and  demand,
developments  in  the  legislative,   regulatory  and  competitive  environment,
electric and gas industry restructuring and cost recovery,  future market prices
for energy,  capacity and ancillary services,  nuclear industry regulation,  the
outcome of pending litigation,  and certain environmental matters,  particularly
ongoing  development of air quality regulations and industrial waste remediation
requirements.