ST. LOUIS, Sept. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- AmerenUE crews restored more than 75,000 Missouri customers in the 24 hours since storms from Hurricane Ike hit the area with winds of up to 60 miles per hour. More than two-thirds of the customers in St. Louis City and County who were out of power last night have been restored, leaving approximately 9,000 still out of power this morning. Most St. Louis City and County customers are expected to be restored today.
In addition to 500 Metro area employees, 100 UE employees from Central and Northern Missouri are supporting restoration efforts.
Half of the more than 30,000 affected customers living outside St. Louis City and County have been restored to power. Most of the out-state customers who are still out of power are in Southeast Missouri, with Scott and Cape Girardeau counties among the hardest hit.
Three fully equipped storm trailers have been deployed in Southeast Missouri to give crews the tools they need where they are working, and the number of people committed to restoring Southeast Missouri customers will more than double by end of day today.
Flooding and downed lines have resulted in safety hazards. Customers should stay away from downed lines and report them by calling 911 or AmerenUE at 1-800-552-7583 or 314-342-1000. Flood safety tips and other information are available on the Ameren Web site (http://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.
SOURCE: AmerenUE
CONTACT: Susan Gallagher, +1-314-554-2175, or Tim Fox,
+1-314-554-3120, both of AmerenUE
Web site: http://www.ameren.com/