As communities throughout central and southern Illinois begin picking up the pieces following a devastating line of storms that moved through the Midwest on Sunday, Ameren Illinois President and CEO Richard J. Mark today pledged $50,000 to the Illinois Tornado Relief Fund of the American Red Cross to assist with the state’s disaster relief efforts.
“As we wrap up our power restoration efforts, it is important to remember that the road to recovery is a long one for many of the families impacted by this tragedy," said Mark. "We hope this donation will in some way help our friends, neighbors and colleagues to resume their normal lives as quickly and safely as possible."
Storms began working their way through the Ameren Illinois 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. Crews have been working around the clock to restore service to customers throughout central and southern Illinois. The hardest hit areas included the greater Peoria-area of Washington, Morton, Metamora, Pekin, East Peoria, Groveland, Roanoke, Washington and Eureka. Areas including Bloomington, Lincoln, Danville, and Brookport also were hard-hit. As of 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Ameren Illinois field crews and support staff had restored service to 99 percent of customers.
The Red Cross is an international humanitarian organization that provides assistance worldwide in times of need.
About Ameren Illinois
Ameren Illinois delivers energy to 1.2 million electric and 806,000 natural gas customers in 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 or find us on Twitter @AmerenIllinois.
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