More than 1,300 Ameren Illinois co-workers and contractors are working to repair damage to those areas hardest hit by a strong line of storms that came through the state on Sunday. Crews are continuing to make steady progress with service restored to more than 130,500 Ameren Illinois customers. Approximately 17,500 customers remain without service, including approximately 12,500 in the Peoria/Washington area.
“Many communities have experienced unimaginable damage as a result of Sunday’s storms,” said Richard J. Mark, president and CEO of Ameren Illinois. “Ameren Illinois crews are doing all they can to restore service quickly and safely. While tremendous progress has been made, there are still challenges that lie ahead given the amount of debris on the ground. Personnel will remain out in the field for as long as it takes to ensure customers are up and running again.”
The largest area without power is the greater Peoria-area of Washington, Pekin, East Peoria, Groveland, and Roanoke. Areas including Bloomington, Lincoln, Danville, and Brookport also were hard-hit. But scattered outages were caused by downed poles and other storm-related damage throughout the territory.
Due to the severity of the damage to the infrastructure, communities in areas hardest hit may experience extended outages.
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Estimated Safe Restoration Times are as follows (times are subject to change): |
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Gifford, Tues |
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E. Peoria, Tues end of day |
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Roanoke, Tues end of day |
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Washington, Wed end of day |
The storm began working its way through the Ameren Illinois service territory around 10:30 a.m. Sunday, causing 148,388 customer outages at the peak. Ameren Illinois activated its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at 11:30 a.m. Sunday to begin coordinating restoration efforts.
A mobile customer service center has been set up at Crossroads Methodist Church off of Rte 24 and N. Main in Washington. Three customer service representatives are available for Washington customers to report outages in person. We still encourage all customers without power or natural gas service to contact our customer service number at 800-755-5000. Media outlets are encouraged to follow @AmerenIllinois on Twitter for real-time updates throughout the day.
Customer safety tips
-Stay away from downed power lines and always call our customer service number, 800-755-5000 if you see downed lines.
-Never go outside during a power outage after sunset because you won't be able to see a downed power line that could still be energized and dangerous. Stay away from brush, shrubs and downed trees that may hide downed lines.
-Detailed safety and outage information is available at IllinoisOutage.com. Customers with mobile devices can visit www.ameren.mobi.
-Customers who use portable generators during a power outage must remember that they can become deadly when not used properly. The National Electric Code (NEC) requires those who install a portable generator to also install a safety disconnect switch to prevent the electricity produced by the generator from feeding back into the utility lines. Never plug a generator directly into an outlet to power a home.
Back feeding electricity into utility lines thought to be de-energized could result in damage to property. More seriously, back fed power poses an unseen hazard to utility personnel who are working on the power lines. In the event power is back fed into downed power lines, anyone coming into contact with those lines could be seriously injured or killed. Portable generators also must never be operated inside a garage or other building as generator engines produce deadly carbon monoxide.
In addition to the safety and outage information available at IllinoisOutage.com, customers and media can receive timely updates on outage restoration by following the Ameren Illinois news feed at twitter.com/AmerenIllinois.
Ameren Illinois delivers energy to 1.2 million electric and 806,000 natural gas customers in downstate Illinois, and our mission is to meet their energy needs in a safe, reliable, efficient and environmentally responsible manner. Our service area covers more than 1,200 communities and 43,700 square miles. For more information, visit AmerenIllinois.com. Follow us on Twitter - @AmerenIllinois.
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