More than 260,000 of the affected customers are in the St. Louis city (50,000 out) and county, surrounding communities and central Illinois. Tens of thousands of customers have been restored today, but with tree limbs falling on lines that are still weighted by the ice, many new outages are occurring.
Almost 1,000 AmerenUE and other AmerenUE employees are working to restore power to customers---approximately 1,000 crews from contractors and other utility companies will soon be in the area to help to restore power. Calls went out requesting help to more than 20 utilities located as far north as Canada and as far south as the Gulf of Mexico. Crews are coming from 14 states---Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin. However, major highway shutdowns earlier in the day and treacherous road conditions have hampered crews' ability to reach affected areas.
Due to the severe weather conditions and extensive damage, lengthy outages are expected. Customers are urged to seek shelter, to unplug electrical equipment and turn off their furnaces. Customers should stay away from the many downed wires caused by the storm. AmerenUE cannot offer customers anticipated restoration times but will make those available as soon as possible. AmerenUE is working closely with city and state officials and emergency response personnel to coordinate restoration efforts and ensure customer safety.
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