Ameren Illinois’ personnel and additional contract crews are working throughout the evening to repair utility pole damage due to Friday night's storm and high winds.
Approximately 20 poles housing wires for both Ameren Illinois and Southwestern Electric Cooperative customers were broken or down next to Highway 40 near St. Jacob, Illinois.
At the start of the outage, about 2,189 Ameren Illinois customers were impacted. By switching to other available lines, all Ameren Illinois customers were restored by 10:13 p.m. Friday.
Crews will continue to work with Southwestern Electric Cooperative personnel throughout the evening to repair the damaged poles and restore all remaining outages as quickly and safely as possible.
The most important safety rule is to stay clear of downed power lines and always call Ameren Illinois at 1.800.755-5000 if you see downed lines. Assume all downed power lines are energized. Stay clear of brush, shrubs and downed trees that may hide downed lines.
While every effort is made to restore power as quickly as possible, customers with special needs—including those with medical conditions, seniors, handicapped and others who are dependent on electric service—may wish to consider making alternative arrangements if outages in their areas persist.
Ameren Illinois customers can report an outage at Ameren.mobi using a smartphone, go online to AmerenIllinois.com/Outage or call 1.800.755.5000.
Additional storm safety information is available at the Ameren Illinois Outage Center at AmerenIllinois.com/Outage, or sign up for outage alerts at AmerenIllinois.com/Alerts.
About Ameren Illinois
Ameren Illinois delivers energy to 1.2 million electric and 807,000 natural gas customers in downstate Illinois, and our mission is to power the quality of life. Our service territory covers more than 1,200 communities and 43,700 square miles. For more information, visit AmerenIllinois.com. Follow us on Twitter @AmerenIllinois and Facebook.
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