AmerenUE reports approximately 13,000 Missouri electric customers are without service due to severe overnight storms. The peak number of customers affected by these storms was around 16,000 Missouri customers.
Metropolitan St. Louis sustained the greatest damage, which included downed lines, lightning strikes and tree limbs on lines. Among the hardest hit areas were North St. Louis City and County and Jefferson County, though outages are widely scattered throughout the St. Louis metropolitan area.
UE began calling out additional crews last night from unaffected areas to assist the restoration effort in storm-damaged areas. The company expects most, if not all, of the customers affected to be restored by this evening, July 22.
UE reminds customers that safety is the first and foremost concern.
The most important safety rule is to stay clear of downed power lines and always call UE at 1-800-552-7583, 342-1000 in the St. Louis metropolitan area, or 911 if you see downed lines. Assume all downed power lines are energized. Stay inside, especially at night because you may walk into an energized power line. Stay clear of brush, shrubs and downed trees that may hide downed lines.
While every effort is being made to restore power as quickly as possible, customers with special needs—including those with medical conditions, seniors, handicapped and others who are dependent on electric service—may wish to consider making alternative arrangements if outages in their areas persist.
We also urge our customers to look in on neighbors, especially seniors and those with medical conditions. Checking on these people during outages will help keep them safe and comfortable.
Additional safety information is available on the Ameren Web site (www.ameren.com).
With residential electric retail rates that are more than 40 percent below the national average, UE provides electricity and natural gas to 1.2 million customers in Missouri. UE’s parent, Ameren Corporation, through its affiliates, serves 2.4 million electric and nearly 1 million natural gas customers across 64,000 square miles of Missouri and Illinois.
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CONTACT: Tim Fox, 314.554.3120, or Susan Gallagher, 314.554.2175, both of AmerenUE