Ameren Illinois Activates Emergency Operations Center, Crews Work to Restore Service
Ameren Illinois field crews and support staff have been actively engaged in restoration services following an intense line of storms that brought wind, rain and ice across the Ameren Illinois service territory early Sunday morning into Monday.
Ameren Illinois activated its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at 10:00 a.m. to coordinate service restoration, logistical support and communications. The EOC will continue to monitor the situation and deploy resources in affected areas as needed.
Ameren Illinois crews are working as quickly and safely as possible with nearly 500 resources deployed to restore power, as winds, flooding and ice accumulation on power lines continues. The largest concentration of outages is in the Peoria and Galesburg areas.
“We appreciate the patience our customers have shown, and understand they want their service restored as quickly as possible. We will be working safely throughout the day to achieve this goal,” said Richard J. Mark, President of Ameren Illinois.
Customer safety tips
- Call Ameren Illinois at 1-800-755-5000 as soon as possible to report a downed line, natural gas odor or an outage.
- 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.
- If you see a fallen or sagging wire, assume that it is still energized and dangerous. Electric power lines can carry power even after being knocked to the ground.
- If your electrical service is interrupted, be sure to unplug or protect sensitive computer and electrical equipment with a high-quality surge protector.
- Never enter a flooded basement or other flooded area where water may be in contact with electrical wiring, appliances and other devices.
- Never attempt to turn off power at the main electrical panel box if you must stand in water or on a wet floor to do so.
With rising river levels some customers may experience flooding. If flood waters reach or likely to reach the controls of a natural gas furnace, water heater or other appliance (generally, the controls are located at the bottom of the appliance), call Ameren Illinois at 1-800-755-5000 to have the natural gas service turned off. Ameren Illinois also will turn off natural gas service at the request of local authorities.
About Ameren Illinois
Ameren Illinois delivers energy to 1.2 million electric and 816,000 natural gas customers in Illinois, and our mission is to power the quality of life. 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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