5:30 p.m. Friday, August 14, 2026
Summary
Crews made significant progress today restoring outages caused by severe storms that impacted North-Central and eastern portion of the Ameren Illinois service territory on August 13. More than 900 resources are actively engaged in restoration and will continue to work this evening.
Most of the remaining outages are in the Bloomington-Normal Area. Operations estimates that 80% of remaining outages in the region will be restored by 6 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 15.
CURRENT SITUATION
- Approximately 11,000 customers are without power at the time of this report. Nearly all of the remaining outages are in the Bloomington-Normal area.
- We have restored almost 41,000 customers since the storms first hit the region at noon on Aug. 13.
- Ameren Illinois activated its Incident Management Team (IMT) at 4:25 p.m., on Aug. 13 to coordinate resources and support restoration operations. The IMT remains fully activated.
- See the Ameren outage map for the latest: ameren.com/outagemap
RESTORATION PROGRESS
- More than 900 resources are engaged, including over 400 contractors.
- More than 800 of those crew members are on the ground in the North region (Bloomington-Normal area). Damage assessors have discovered a significant number of additional poles down as they gained access to rear easements.
- Replacing a broken power pole is one of the most complex steps in the restoration process and can take several hours depending on damage and site conditions.
ESTIMATED SAFE RESTORATION TIMES (ESRT)
- Bloomington/Normal – 80% of remaining outages will be restored by 6 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 15. Global ESRTs have been entered into the outage orders and customers have been notified of their ESRT directly.
- All other regions have been restored or are on track to be restored today.
COMMUNICATION
- Earlier today, we executed proactive communication (e-mail, phone, text) to nearly 20,000 customers whose ESRT was not established, informing them of the scope of the damage, resources, and restoration plans.
- Media coverage has been modest, with three inquiries and a handful of outlets running stories based on information on the outage map. Storm messaging was posted to the Ameren media room.
- The social team has executed several posts which showed photos of the significant damage, followed later by images of crews working. Tone is empathetic. This evening's post will report significant progress, resources and estimated restoration times for Bloomington- Normal.
- The Community Relations team has kept community officials, critical care customers, and emergency management contacts informed about restoration progress. The Government Relations teams (Fed and State) are keeping elected officials informed.
- Outage details and safety information are available at Ameren.com/outage. A banner message was added to the outage map. Customers and media can also receive updates on outage restoration by following the Ameren Illinois news feed at X: AmerenIllinois and Facebook.com/AmerenIllinois.
CUSTOMER SAFETY
- The region continued to experience significant rainfall some areas have experienced flooding. Avoid any risk of electrical shock and do not enter any flooded areas.
- Stay clear of any downed power lines or poles, as well as brush, shrubs and downed trees that may hide them. Always assume a downed wire is live.
- Report any downed power lines to Ameren Illinois via the app or customer service line (800-755-5000).
- If the power is out, check circuit breakers or fuses – an outage might be the result of a household problem.
- We encourage customers to check on elderly neighbors or others who may need assistance during outages.
- We remind customers that certain electrical equipment on the outside of a home or business, like the weatherhead, is owned by the customer. If damaged during a storm, this will need to be repaired by a qualified electrician before we can restore power to your home. https://vimeo.com/1100684393?share=copy&fl=cl&fe=ci
- We understand storm cleanup can be challenging. To safely restore power and assist as many customers as possible, our forestry crews focus on removing only the vegetation necessary to make electric repairs. Tree limbs and other debris are not stacked or bundled, and cleanup remains the property owner's responsibility.
- Generator safety - https://www.ameren.com/company/safety/extreme-weather-safety/portable-generator-safety
