Ameren Missouri restoration efforts over the past 24 hours significantly decreased outages resulting from the storm that moved through the metropolitan area Wednesday evening. Customer outages were at 12,000 as of 6 p.m. and peaked at 43,000 last evening.
Ameren employees are grappling with the tragic death of a co-worker who sustained an electrical contact during storm restoration efforts Thursdsay. The company paused storm restorations efforts to conduct a safety stand down to provide co-workers with the opportunity to process the loss and continue to focus efforts on safely performing their challenging work.
President and CEO Warner Baxter conveyed to employees that "it is hard to find the words to express one's sorrow and sympathy for our co-worker. When these tragic events take place, we can simply offer our heartfelt thoughts, support and prayers to the family."
"While it is difficult to continue, we must do so for each other and for our customers," said Senior Vice President Michael Moehn. "Words cannot express my personal sorrow for the family and friends of our co-worker and for our employees impacted by this loss, but we can find ways to support each other."
Currently the company has 1,171 workers engaged in the restoration effort, which includes 632 Ameren Missouri and Ameren Illinois line employees, 167 line contractors, and 228 forestry crews. "We continue to make good progress and expect to have the majority of customers restored this evening," Moehn said. "There will be restoration work that will extend into tomorrow in some of the most heavily damaged areas."
As always, Ameren Missouri’s primary concern is the safety of customers and employees. The most important safety rule is to stay clear of downed power lines. Always call Ameren Missouri at 1.800.552.7583 or 911 if you see low-hanging or downed lines and assume all downed power lines are energized. Also, stay clear of brush, shrubs and downed trees that may hide downed lines.
While every effort is being 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.
Additional storm safety information is available on the Storm Outage Center on Ameren Missouri’s website – AmerenMissouri.com.
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Ameren Missouri has been providing electric and gas service for more than a century, and our electric rates are among the lowest in the nation. We serve 1.2 million electric and 127,000 natural gas customers in central and eastern Missouri. Our mission is to meet their energy needs in a safe, reliable, efficient and environmentally responsible manner. Our service area covers 63 counties and more than 500 towns, including the greater St. Louis area. For more information, visit AmerenMissouri.com.
CONTACT: Missouri Communications, 314.554.2182, missouricommunications@ameren.com