The company has more than 3,200 linemen and 1,500 tree- removal/vegetation management personnel in the field working now with 1,000 more on the scene tomorrow. Contractor and other utility crews have come from 16 states to help restore power to customers of Ameren companies--up from nine states on Saturday.
"We know that some of our customers have been out of power going on three days now, and we very much appreciate their patience and are very aware of the great difficulties they are facing," says Richard Mark, senior vice president, AmerenUE. Scott Cisel, president of Ameren Illinois utilities added that Ameren companies have committed all available resources to the restoration effort. "We realize that the comfort and safety of our customers are at stake, and we are doing our very best to get everyone back on as quickly as possible."
Following is a breakdown of estimated restoration times for Ameren's Missouri and Illinois customers. However, the company notes that these estimates are subject to change should weather conditions deteriorate. Again, assuming current conditions hold, some customers will be restored before these dates, but all customers should be restored by the late evening of each date:
Power Restored End of Day Monday, Jan. 15
• South St. Louis County
• Jefferson County
• Jerseyville, Ill.
Power Restored End of Day Tuesday, Jan. 16
• St. Charles County/Wentzville
• Franklin County
• Areas north and west of Peoria and Galesburg, Ill.
Power Restored End of Day Wednesday,
• Central Missouri
• West St. Louis County
• North St. Louis County
Ameren continues to remind its customers of the following safety tips:
• Customers should stay away from downed lines and report them to their Ameren utility company.
• For customers who are without power in the cold and unable to get to a warm location, Ameren recommends staying in one room, wearing layers of clothing and wrapping up in blankets.
• Customers using an alternate heat source must be sure to follow all instructions, use fire safeguards and ensure proper ventilation.
• Customers using generators must follow all safety precautions listed in the owner's manual and only use them in well-ventilated areas.
Other tips for customer safety and for coping with winter power outages can be found on www.ameren.com.
Ameren, through its subsidiaries, serves 2.4 million electric customers and one million natural gas customers in a 64,000-square-mile area of Missouri and Illinois.