Approximately 800 Ameren Missouri crew members, including linemen, tree trimmers and field checkers, began deploying Saturday morning to escalate restoration efforts across the company’s service territory. In addition, Ameren Missouri is requesting between 400 and 500 linemen for mutual assistance from other states.
Currently, there are approximately 85,000 Ameren Missouri customers without power, mostly in the Berkeley, Florissant, Black Jack, Bridgeton, North St. Louis County, and St. Charles area. Crews are still assessing the damage and moving materials into the field to begin restoration efforts. The Ameren Missouri Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is open and managing resources to ensure a safe and timely response to customers’ needs. Ameren Missouri will be moving mobile command centers into communities later this morning.
Safety is Ameren Missouri’s top priority. The company asks customers to remain safe as they begin assessing damage to their homes and businesses. Assume all downed power lines are energized.
“Storm damage and debris can camouflage downed power lines. We’re urging customers to use precaution,” said Michael Moehn, senior vice president of Ameren Missouri Customer Operations. “We are encouraging customers to plan ahead for the sake of safety and to take necessary actions to help avoid issues that could accompany outages.”
Here are tips for customers during this outage: have a battery-powered radio and flashlights available, along with drinking water, canned/no-cook foods, a first aid kit and supply of any necessary medications. While every effort is 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.
Customers without power should contact the Customer Service Center at 1.800.552.7583 or go to the Outage Center at AmerenMissouri.com, where they can also access outage information. Call our Customer Service Center or 911 immediately if you see downed power lines.
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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.