News Releases

In the past 24 hours, Ameren Missouri crews made significant progress, restoring power to 40,000 customers. Currently, 55,000 customers remain without power. Approximately 2,000 crew members are working storm restoration, including roughly 1,000 linemen, 125 field checkers, 400 tree trimmers, and support staff in the field. Hundreds of other Ameren Missouri workers are providing logistic support, such as meals, lodging, and customer communications.

The company understands customers may be frustrated. However, restoration speed has been hampered by significant infrastructure damage and the need to first fix more than two hundred poles. Poles that feed power to substations must be restored before crews can re-energize those substations. Then they can fix the poles and wires in residential areas. Crews first repair damage that will restore the greatest number of customers in the least amount of time. Then individual lines are repaired as crews work in smaller neighborhoods.

"We understand the importance electricity plays in the lives of our customers. We want them to know we are working hard to restore their power and will remain focused until every customer’s power is returned," said Michael Moehn, senior vice president, Ameren Missouri Customer Operations. "It is critical that we repair the extensive infrastructure damage so we can move forward with getting power back to our customers."

Three areas where this is evident are:
 

• Highway 170 crossing and Wabash – Sub-transmission power lines are down and must be restrung across the highway. Storms broke eight poles. A 35 person line crew will spend today setting three, 100-foot poles on either side of the highway.
   

• Frost near Frost Industrial Rd., (south of I-170 – access Frost Avenue off of North Hanley Rd.) – Storms damaged ten 34kv circuit sub-transmission poles. Sub-transmission circuits supply the many sub-stations on the Ameren Missouri system. The poles on these circuits must be repaired first before work can begin on the distribution system, which is considered the backbone of the electric system, and branches out into the neighborhoods and residential households. To make this repair it will take 30 linemen 16 hours.
   
• Maryland Heights near Hollywood Casino (777 Casino Center Dr.) - Storms broke 14 poles near the Hollywood Casino property.　This is a unique situation because the extensive height of the poles requires specialized equipment.　Repairs will require 24 linemen to work 20 hours.
   

Ameren Missouri is also warning customers to watch out for scams. The company has received reports of someone attempting to charge a customer $350 to restore power. Ameren Missouri crews will never request payment to restore power after a storm.

Customers without power should contact the Customer Service Center at 1.800.552.7583, access the Outage Center at AmerenMissouri.com or go to Ameren.mobi. Call our Customer Service Center or 911 immediately if you see downed power lines.

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Ameren Missouri has been providing electric and gas service for more than a century, and our electric rates are among the lowest in the nation. We serve 1.2 million electric and 127,000 natural gas customers in central and eastern Missouri. Our mission is to meet their energy needs in a safe, reliable, efficient and environmentally responsible manner. Our service area covers 63 counties and more than 500 towns, including the greater St. Louis area. For more information, visit AmerenMissouri.com.