AmerenUE announced today that customers in 19 of the 34 towns still affected by the severe ice storm that hit Southeast Missouri should have power by day’s end Monday (see list below), with some customers in those towns getting service today.
Most of the customers in another 11 towns can expect to get electric service on Tuesday with the remaining 4 towns partially restored on Monday and almost all affected customers restored by end of day Wednesday.
Approximately 4,000 line workers, field checkers, tree trimmers and other support staffers are working to repair damage from a storm that downed more than 4,000 poles and hundreds of lines earlier this week. More than 20,000 customers have been restored in UE’s territory; they represented only a fraction of the total number of customers who lost power when a winter storm knocked out power to more than 1.3 million homes and businesses from Arkansas to Ohio.
Here is the restoration schedule for the 16,000 UE customers still out of power:
Most Customers Restored by End of Day Monday:
· Bernie; Blodgett Area --- including the towns of Blodgett, Morely, Haywood City, Vanduser, Crowder; Braggadocio; Catron; Caruthersville; Dexter; Essex; Gibson (towns of Gibson, Clarkton, Holcomb); Hayti; Lilbourn; Parma-Risco (towns of Parma, Risco) and Wardell
Most Customers Restored by End of Day Tuesday
· Gideon, Miner, Morehouse; Portageville area (towns of Portageville, Conran, Rainbow City, Marston, Howardville); Steele (towns of Steele, Cooter, Holland).
Most Customers Restored by End of Day Wednesday:
· Derring (towns of Derring, Bragg City); Matthews (towns of Matthews, Canalou)
Customers who are not restored by the date listed on this schedule should call UE at 1-800-552-7583 to report that they are still out of power.
* * *
WEATHERHEAD DAMAGE—STORM SAFETY:
Due to the ice storm's extensive damage to the electric service entrances at customers' homes, the services of an electrical contractor may be required to re-attach or repair customer-owned facilities, such as the meter base, weatherhead or point of attachment (see photo).
Any customer noticing damage to these facilities should call an electrical contractor to make repairs so utility workers can safely restore service. Not repairing this damage could delay restoration to the customer's home. Customers should contact 2-1-1 for more information regarding disaster-related needs, including weatherhead repair. If funding becomes available, call-takers will call you back or pass on information to the entity providing funding. Contact 2-1-1 by dialing 2-1-1 from a landline or 1-800-427-4626 from cell phones.
In addition, customers should stay away from downed power wires caused by the storm. Ameren companies are working closely with city and state officials and emergency response personnel to coordinate restoration efforts and ensure customer safety.
This diagram shows the typical components of an electrical service entrance to a home or business. Due to ice storm damage, customers may need to make repairs to weatherhead or other components.
Additional storm safety information is available on the Storm Center on Ameren’s Web site – the first choice on the left navigation bar (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.
# # #