News Releases

With the threat for severe weather and a potential for high winds and tornadoes throughout much of Ameren Illinois’ service territory today and this evening, the company activated its Emergency Operations Center as of 3 pm today to help coordinate response efforts. Employees have been placed on alert and are prepared to respond quickly in the event of service disruptions this evening.

“Given the prediction for severe weather this evening, Ameren Illinois is taking appropriate steps to be able to quickly and safely address disruptions to the system should that become a concern this evening,” said Ron Pate, senior vice president of Operations and Technical Services, Ameren Illinois.

In preparation for the forecasted storms, Pate said Ameren Illinois is taking the following actions:

• Weather conditions are being monitored by the Emergency Operations Center for any changes that may impact service
• Additional Ameren Illinois workers and contractor personnel are on alert and ready for deployment to impacted areas.
• Trucks are fueled and loaded with supplies.
• If necessary, Ameren Illinois is prepared to deploy the special Ameren Illinois Storm Trailers. These trailers are filled with materials field crews need to perform their service restoration work. The trailers can be moved to various staging sites to provide materials when outside crews come in to help with the restoration efforts and to provide a store of materials close to the area with the most damage.

Ameren Illinois is also reminding customers to be on alert and take the necessary precautions to keep themselves and their families safe.

“One of the most important things customers can do ahead of a storm is to stay informed on the weather conditions. A weather radio is a good tool to have because it provides a signal that dangerous conditions are approaching,” said Pate. “This is also an excellent time to take stock of the supplies available in your emergency kit. Make sure your flashlight is working, you have extra batteries, and your cell phone is fully charged.”

In addition to the safety and outage information available at AmerenIllinois.com, customers and media can receive timely updates on outage restoration by following the Ameren Illinois news feed at twitter.com/AmerenIllinois and Facebook.com/AmerenIllinois.

About Ameren Illinois
Ameren Illinois delivers energy to 1.2 million electric and 816,000 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.

# # #