Ameren Missouri reports staff resources increased to 2000 early Sunday morning to assist with restoration efforts.
On Saturday, Ameren Missouri estimated that more than 1000 utility poles were damaged during the severe storm that occurred Friday evening, which included strong winds, hail, and reporting of a tornado in north St. Louis County.
In about 24 hours crews had restored power to 27,000 customers impacted by the storms. Additionally, Saturday evening Ameren Missouri completed repairs to restore power to Lambert International Report. As of 6 a.m. today, 20,000 customers were experiencing power outages related to Friday’s storm.
“We anticipate storm restoration efforts will continue for at least the next 72 hours due to the unusual number of damaged poles,” said Richard Mark, senior vice president of Customer Operations. “We want our customers to know we are aggressively pursuing power restoration for every customer, as evidenced by the additional resources employed on this holiday weekend.”
Ameren Missouri 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 Ameren Missouri at 1-800-552-7583 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.
Additional storm information is available on the Outage Center pages at AmerenMissouri.com.
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Ameren Missouri has been providing electric and gas service for more than a century, and our electric rates are among the lowest in the nation. We serve 1.2 million electric and 126,000 natural gas customers in central and eastern Missouri. Our mission is to meet their energy needs in a safe, reliable, efficient and environmentally responsible manner. Our service area covers 63 counties and more than 500 towns, including the greater St. Louis area. For more information, visit AmerenMissouri.com.