Ameren Illinois Utilities Assign 780 Field Personnel To Restore Electric Service in Storm Damaged Southern Illinois; All Service
September 15 2008 - 4:27PM
PR Newswire (US)
PEORIA, Ill., Sept. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ameren Illinois
Utilities estimate all customers who lost electric service in the
wake of yesterday's storms will have their service restored no
later than midnight Tuesday, 24 hours earlier than originally
estimated. At 2:30 p.m. today, the Ameren Illinois Utilities had
restored service to more than 42,000 customers following
yesterday's storms, leaving about 7,000 customers without service.
At the height of the outages early yesterday afternoon, more than
49,000 customers were without service. The storms, which produced
heavy rains and damaging winds, brought down distribution and
transmission poles and sent tree limbs and even whole trees
crashing through power lines. In many of the impacted areas, the
National Weather Service had issued high wind warnings. To meet the
challenge of the storms that were spawned by the remnants of
Hurricane Ike, the Ameren Illinois Utilities with local employees,
reassigned employees and outside contractors had 780 field
personnel to restore service in Southern Illinois, including
linemen, tree trimmers and support personnel. In addition, the
Ameren Illinois Utilities sent two of their storm trailers to Anna
to serve the Southern Illinois areas hardest hit by the storm. A
storm trailer is a mobile storeroom with the supplies line crews
need to restore service. "With storm tracking projections, we were
able to anticipate Hurricane Ike and expected a wide range of storm
activity," said Ron Pate, Ameren Illinois Utilities vice president
of Regional Operations. "Our supply group began stocking up on
poles, wire, transformers and other necessary materials in case we
experienced severe weather. Unfortunately, the effects of Ike were
significant and impacted nearly half of the 85 counties we serve.
However, we activated our Emergency Operations Center (EOC) early
on to assemble personnel from various locations and our massive
effort to restore power is paying off for our customers." It is now
estimated that Ameren Illinois Utilities customers in East St.
Louis will have service restored by 4:00 p.m. today. Customers in
the Belleville, Centralia, Mt. Vernon, Sparta, Harrisburg, Benton
and Eldorado are expected to have service restored by midnight
tonight. Carbondale area customers can expect service to be
restored by mid-day Tuesday, while the hardest hit areas of Anna
and Marion may have outages until midnight Tuesday. The storms,
which produced heavy rains and damaging winds, brought down
distribution and transmission poles and sent tree limbs and even
whole trees crashing through power lines. In many of the impacted
areas, the National Weather Service had issued high wind warnings.
"This comprehensive team service restoration effort not only is
allowing us to work safely and efficiently, but to restore service
a full day earlier than we had projected earlier today," said Pate.
"I know this will be good news to our customers, many of whom still
have cleanup work at their own homes." The Ameren Illinois
Utilities serve 1.2 million electric and more than 840,000 natural
gas customers in a 43,700-square-mile area of Illinois. NOTE TO
EDITORS and NEWS DIRECTORS: Ameren offers these tips for your
safety and for coping with power outages (also available on
http://www.ameren.com)/ Check on the elderly. If you know an
elderly person in your neighborhood who is without power, check on
that person's health. Watch out for downed wires. If you see a
fallen or sagging wire, assume that it is still energized and
dangerous. Electric power lines can carry power even after being
knocked to the ground. Stay away and warn others to do the same.
Pull some plugs. Turn off or disconnect the refrigerator, freezer,
television, air conditioner and other major appliances that would
go on automatically when the power is restored. This precaution
will avoid overloading a circuit when power comes back on -- and
the chance of a second interruption. After power is restored, turn
them on one at a time. Flip a switch. Turn one or two light
switches on so you will know when your service is restored. There
are also some steps you can take during and after a storm to ensure
the safety of your family, home and pets. Keep your food cold.
Resist the urge to peek in on the refrigerator and freezer. Food
will stay cold or frozen longer if the appliance stays closed. *
Use caution with your food. Check with your local health department
and remember the rule, "When in doubt, throw it out!" The
University of Illinois Extension Service says these foods should be
discarded after four hours without power: o Raw or cooked meat,
poultry and seafood o Milk, cream, yogurt and soft cheeses o Cooked
pasta and pasta salads o Custard, chiffon and cheese pies o Fresh
eggs and egg substitutes o Meat-topped pizza and lunch meats o
Casseroles, soups and stews o Mayonnaise and tartar sauce o Cookie
dough * These foods should be safe for a few days without power: o
Butter and margarine o Fresh fruits and vegetables o Opened jars of
salad dressing, jelly, relish, taco sauce, barbecue sauce, mustard,
ketchup and olives o Hard and processed cheeses The Ameren Illinois
Utilities offer these key electric safety tips: * Never enter a
flooded basement or other flooded area where water may be in
contact with electrical wiring, appliances and other devices. *
Under no circumstances should you attempt to turn off power at the
main electrical panel box if you must stand in water or even on a
wet floor to do so. * Furthermore, never operate electrical
appliances or devices or touch electrical switches, outlets or
cords if you are standing in water or are on a wet surface, or if
you are wet. * Keep all electric-powered tools and equipment at
least 10 feet away from water and wet surfaces. Do not use electric
tools and equipment outdoors if the ground is wet. Natural gas
safety tips: * If you detect a strong odor of natural gas,
immediately leave your home or business and call your Ameren
Illinois Utilities (AmerenCILCO - 1-888-672- 5252; AmerenCIPS -
1-888-789-2477; AmerenIP - 1-800-755-5000). Do not turn lights on
or off, operate any electrical device, use a phone or light a match
inside or near the building. * If you detect a faint odor of
natural gas, attempt to follow the odor to its source. It may be an
extinguished pilot light or a partially turned on burner valve.
These are problems you can safely and easily fix. If the odor
persists, call your Ameren Illinois Utilities Company. In the event
of flooding, the Ameren Illinois Utilities will turn off electrical
power to a home or business at the request of a customer. Customers
should contact their Ameren Illinois Utilities to have the power
turned off when flood waters are likely to reach the main
electrical panel box. The Ameren Illinois Utilities also will turn
power off at the request of local authorities. If flood waters
reach the controls of a natural gas furnace, water heater or other
appliance (generally, the controls are located at the bottom the
appliance), contact your Ameren Illinois Utilities to have your
natural gas service turned off. The Ameren Illinois Utilities also
will turn off natural gas service at the request of local
authorities. The Ameren Illinois Utilities recommend following
these tips after a flood: * If an electrical appliance has been in
contact with water, have a professional electrician or appliance
repair person check it first. Often, appliances must be repaired or
replaced. * If you have any doubts about the safety of your home or
business electrical system, have it inspected by a professional
electrician. * Call in a professional service person to inspect a
furnace, water heater and any other natural gas appliance that was
entirely or partially submerged. * If your electrical or natural
gas service was turned off, contact your Ameren Illinois Utilities
to have it turned on after you have made certain your electrical
and natural gas systems are safe to use. Never attempt to turn
services on yourself. Additional safety information is available on
the Ameren Web site (http://www.ameren.com/). DATASOURCE: Ameren
Illinois Utilities CONTACT: Leigh Morris, +1-217-535-5228, or Neal
Johnson, +1-309-677-5284, both of Ameren Illinois Utilities Web
site: http://www.ameren.com/
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