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Ameren Illinois Issues Status Update for Metro East Storm Restoration
Service for most customers expected to be restored by this evening

Since the wake of Wednesday’s storm that impacted the entire Ameren Illinois territory, Ameren Illinois field crews, contractors and mutual aid crews restored service to more than 118,000 customers over the last 40 hours.

“At this time, it is anticipated that customers who are still without service will have their power restored by this evening,” said Richard Mark, president, Ameren Illinois. “We appreciate the patience our customers have shown, and understand they want their service restored as quickly as humanly possible. Our team has been working hard throughout the territory, and as we wrap up restoration of other areas, we are mobilizing crews to the Metro East to work throughout the day and evening to achieve this goal. “

Currently, there are more than 2,100 resources engaged in restoration, including almost 900 contract workers.

Ameren Illinois has opened a service center for Ameren Illinois customers. The temporary mobile unit will be staffed from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. today, and is located inside the ESDA Emergency Mobile unit at:


Mt. Carmel Church Parking Lot

10101 W. Main Street, Belleville


Specific restoration estimates for individual customers are available through our outage alert system. Ameren Illinois customers without power should call 800-755-5000 to report an outage, log onto the website at AmerenIllinois.com, or report their outage using the mobile phone app. Customers who report their outage are able to sign up for outage alerts to receive text or email restoration updates. Learn more at Ameren.com/alerts. In addition, safety and outage information is available at IllinoisOutage.com, or customers and media can receive timely updates on outage restoration by following the Ameren Illinois news feed at twitter.com/AmerenIllinois.

Food safety

Use caution with your food. Check with your local health department and remember the rule, “When in doubt, throw it out!” The University of Illinois Extension Service says these foods should be discarded after four hours without power:

  • Raw or cooked meat, poultry and seafood
  • Milk, cream, yogurt and soft cheeses
  • Cooked pasta and pasta salads
  • Custard, chiffon and cheese pies
  • Fresh eggs and egg substitutes
  • Meat-topped pizza and lunch meats
  • Casseroles, soups and stews
  • Mayonnaise and tartar sauce
  • Cookie dough

These foods should be safe for a few days without power:

  • Butter and margarine
  • Fresh fruits and vegetables
  • Opened jars of salad dressing, jelly, relish, barbecue sauce, mustard, ketchup and olives
  • Hard and processed cheeses

For more guidelines visit FoodSafety.gov

About Ameren Illinois

Ameren Illinois delivers energy to 1.2 million electric and 816,000 natural gas customers throughout central and southern Illinois. Our service territory covers more than 1,200 communities and 43,700 square miles and our mission is to power the quality of life.  For more information, visit AmerenIllinois.com. Follow us on Twitter @AmerenIllinois and Facebook.

 

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