Ameren Illinois crews and contractors have been working throughout the day to restore power to customers impacted by high winds and strong thunderstorms that moved through the service territory last night and this morning. The company activated its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at 11:30 a.m. today to coordinate response efforts.
The east-central part of the State was hardest hit, with approximately 40 poles down in and around the areas of Champaign and more than 10 poles in the Danville area. Falling trees also knocked down 9 poles in the Decatur, Lincoln and Niantic areas.
At this time, it is anticipated that customers in the areas west of Galesburg will be restored by 8 p.m. this evening. Customers in the Decatur, Lincoln and Niantic areas will be restored by 10 p.m. There are approximately 1900 customers without power in Champaign and Danville. Their estimated safe restoration time is 9:00 a.m. tomorrow (Wednesday) although service may be restored to some throughout the evening.
Ameren Illinois employees and contract crews have been aided by resources from Ameren Missouri, Commonwealth Edison and Service Electric out of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
“Our employees and external resources have been working as quickly and safely as possible to assess the damage, repair critical infrastructure, and get the power back on for our customers," said Richard J. Mark, president and Chairman, Ameren Illinois. "We have made great progress in a short amount of time and will continue to work throughout the evening to finish the job."
Safety Reminder
Residents are reminded to watch and avoid downed electrical wires. Furthermore, never go outside during a power outage after sunset because you won’t be able to see downed power line that could still be energized and dangerous. Stay away from brush, downed trees and limbs and any debris that may conceal downed power lines. Call Ameren Illinois at 800-755-5000 to report downed wires.
Customers can also sign up for text or email notifications once an outage has been reported. Visit Ameren.com/alerts. In addition to the safety and outage information available at AmerenIllinois.com/outage, customers and media can receive timely updates on outage restoration by following the Ameren Illinois on Facebook and Twitter.
About Ameren Illinois
Ameren Illinois delivers energy to 1.2 million electric and 816,000 natural gas customers in downstate Illinois, and our mission is to power the quality of life. Our service territory covers more than 1,200 communities and 43,700 square miles. For more information, visit AmerenIllinois.com. Follow us on Twitter @AmerenIllinois and Facebook.
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