Ameren crews and support personnel have begun work in New Jersey assisting Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) crews. Employee and public safety is the highest priority.
PSE&G officials have told the 550 individuals representing Ameren and contractors that full restoration could take seven or more days. According to the Department of Energy website, as of 9 a.m., today, 51 percent of New Jersey electric customers are without power.
Ameren crews working in Somerset and Lawrenceville, N.J., are facing several issues including roadways being covered by downed trees and power lines.
Ameren’s Senior Leadership Team is participating in daily conference calls with utility CEOs, which includes Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and representatives of Federal Emergency Management Agency. The calls will continue until restoration is completed.
“We participated in the conference call last night, which was chaired by President Obama and Secretary of Energy Chu,” said Warner L. Baxter, president and CEO, Ameren Missouri. “The focus of that call was to ensure that the federal government was doing all it could to remove barriers for restoration and leverage their assets in the best way possible to assist the industry.”
“Status reports I’m receiving about the extent of the damage suggest that restoration is going to take a lot of time,” said Richard J. Mark, president and CEO, Ameren Illinois. “A member of my senior management team will be joining our crews to help direct operations on the ground and expedite our ability to get the power on quickly and safely for the people in the New Jersey.”
Ameren is contributing $50,000 to the American Red Cross and Salvation Army in support of restoration efforts. In addition, Ameren employees will have the opportunity to contribute to the American Red Cross through payroll deduction.
Ameren’s support of Sandy by the numbers:
• 245 are linemen
• 65 are safety, supervisory, fleet and logistics personnel
• 240 Ameren contractors released to respond
• 97 bucket trucks
• 98 material, derrick digger trucks used to dig and set poles and E-Z haul trailers
Ameren.com features updates on Ameren Missouri and Ameren Illinois crews assisting the restoration efforts. Additional Ameren restoration videos will be available on YouTube.
About Ameren
With assets of $23 billion, St. Louis-based Ameren Corporation owns a diverse mix of electric energy centers strategically located in our Midwest market, with a generating capacity of 15,900 megawatts. Through our Missouri and Illinois subsidiaries, we serve 2.4 million electric customers and more than 900,000 natural gas customers in a 64,000-square-mile area. Our mission is to meet our customers' energy needs in a safe, reliable, efficient and environmentally-responsible manner. For more information, visit Ameren.com.
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CONTACT: Corporate - Brian Bretsch, 314.554.4135, bbretsch@ameren.com; Missouri - Kent Martin, 314.554.2182, missouricommunications@ameren.com; Illinois - Leigh Morris, 217.535.5228, lmorris@ameren.com