Given the nature of the damage and the 200,000 outages that resulted from a fierce July 21 storm, company officials' initial 3 to 5 day restoration estimate could stretch to a day or two longer.
STAFFING: More than 3,950 contractors and employees\-up from 2,700 yesterday-- are working to restore power. These workers are from several states. A number of companies have sent crews and others have committed additional people, so more crews will be arriving in coming days.
PLEASE INFORM LISTENERS, VIEWERS AND READERS
Be Careful of downed lines. If you see a fallen or sagging wire, assume that it is still energized and dangerous. Stay away and warn others to do the same.
Because the most recent storm caused some overloading on telecommunications lines serving the 314-342-1000 and 314-342-1111 customer contact numbers, customers are asked to use the toll-free number: 1-800-552-7583 -- regardless of their locations.
Customers can visit the Ameren Web site www.ameren.com for outage numbers, get tips on what to do during an outage and an outage prep sheet, including a checklist and Ameren customer contact center numbers.