Summary:
Ameren crews and contractors continue to make significant progress in restoration efforts in the aftermath of back-to-back storms (June 10 and June 11) that impacted the mid-section of the Ameren Illinois service territory. Crews, contractors and support personnel have been working around the clock and have reduced the overall outage count to around 9,700 customers at the time of this report. Since the first storm hit Wednesday, June 10, roughly 94 percent of customers have been restored. The remaining outages are primarily located in the Bloomington, Peoria, Champaign and Danville areas.
Crews are still busy setting new power poles and making repairs to infrastructure on the poles. Damage assessment is still happening in parts of the North Region on Saturday and remains critical to determine additional needed resources. Because of the significant widespread damage incurred, this remains a multi-day restoration event.
Support personnel are keeping a close eye on the weather forecast as another round of storms is expected to impact both Illinois and Missouri territory late Saturday afternoon and into Sunday.
CURRENT SITUATION
· Approximately 9,700 customers are without power at the time of this report. The highest concentration of remaining outages is in our North Region and East Region.
· Significant damage to distribution and sub-transmission poles still remains an issue.
· Replacing a broken power pole is one of the most complex steps in restoration. Depending on the damage and site conditions, it can take several hours to complete. · See the Ameren outage map for the latest: www.ameren.com/outagemap
RESTORATION RESOURCES
· Approximately 2,000 in-house workers, support personnel, and contractor resources (vegetation management and lineworkers) were currently engaged in
storm restoration on Friday. Additional crews will be moved to the impacted areas today.
ESTIMATED SAFE RESTORATION TIME (or ESRTs)
· Global ESRTs have been placed on orders. Because of the significant widespread damage incurred, customers were informed yesterday to expect a multi-day restoration event.
COMMUNICATION
· Ameren reminds 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.
· Outages are frustrating for our customers. We appreciate their patience and understanding as crews work hard to get the power restored as quickly and safely as possible.
· Real-time outage details and safety information are available at Ameren.com/outage. Customers and media can also receive updates on outage restoration by following the Ameren Illinois news feed at twitter.com/AmerenIllinois and Facebook.com/AmerenIllinois.
· Be sure to call or visit elderly neighbors or anyone who is homebound, if their power is out, to ensure they are physically safe, have necessary medications, and are not at any risk.
HOW AMEREN ILLINOIS SAFELY RESTORES POWER
· Priority one is to communicate with key stakeholders and respond to life-threatening emergencies, such as downed-wires, and to handle all problems impacting critical infrastructure such as hospitals and other emergency response facilities – police and fire.
· Once power is restored to critical infrastructure, crews focus on getting the most customers restored in the quickest and most efficient manner. Crews begin with main lines – those that can restore power to perhaps thousands of people – and then move to lines that affect hundreds, dozens and individual homes.
· This is why homes in the same neighborhoods may be restored at different times, as well as why businesses are sometimes restored first – because of their general location along primary power lines.
SAFETY
· Safety is the first and foremost concern during any weather event. 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.
· Customers should 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. Avoid any risk of electrical shock and do not enter any flooded areas. · Generator Safety - https://www.ameren.com/company/safety/extreme-weather-safety/portable-generator-safety