Ameren Illinois Utilities Send More Resources to Southern Illinois, 1,900 Field, Support Staff Working to Turn Lights Back On
May 11 2009 - 12:12PM
PR Newswire (US)
Service Restored to 35,000 Customers MARION, Ill., May 11
/PRNewswire/ -- The Ameren Illinois Utilities (AIU) have increased
the size of their small army of field and support personnel to
1,900 people working restore service in storm ravaged Southern
Illinois, where over the past 69 hours the lights have been turned
back on for approximately 35,000 customers. Despite the widespread
damage, AIU has been able to restore service to several critical
care facilities, including Carbondale Memorial Hospital, Herrin
Hospital, Ferrell Hospital in Eldorado, VA Hospital in Marion,
Fountainview Nursing Home in Eldorado, Ridgway Manor in Ridgway,
Marion Water Plant and the Carrier Mills Nursing and Rehabilitation
facility. At 10:20 a.m. today, about 33,800 AIU residential and
business customers are still without electric service, down from
the peak outage count of 68,800 customers. The Ameren Illinois
Utilities anticipate the majority of all customers will have their
lights back on by late Tuesday night. However, the unexpected
severity of the damage in Carbondale means that service in and
around that city may not be fully restored until Wednesday or
Thursday. "We appreciate the patience and support of all of our
customers, many of whom are also dealing with damage to their own
homes and businesses," said Ron Pate, AIU vice president of
Regional Operations. "We want to reassure everyone that we will be
on the job in Southern Illinois until the lights are on for every
customer." Up-to-date information on the electrical service
restoration effort as well as safety advice and weather reports are
available at IllinoisOutage.com. Also, the Web site features photos
and videos of the storm damage and service restoration effort. To
facilitate the restoration effort, the Ameren Illinois Utilities
are now using an automated calling system to contact customers in
impacted areas. The system allows customers to indicate if their
service has been restored or is still out. This information is then
put into the AIU outage reporting system so service can be safely
restored. In addition, customers can call AIU to report outages or
downed wires: 1-888-789-2477 (AmerenCIPS), 1-800-755-7000
(AmerenIP) and 1-888-672-5252 (AmerenCILCO). Customers who do not
have access to telephones may visit the just opened temporary AIU
Customer Service Center located in the Carbondale City Hall at 200
S. Illinois Ave. In addition, AIU has a temporary Customer Service
Center at the southwest entrance to Marion Mall close to the Sears.
"The magnitude of the storm damage is making our service
restoration work more challenging. We a have brought additional
crews, support personnel and specialized equipment to get the
lights back on safely and as quickly as possible," Pate said. In
addition, AIU has established a central crew and material staging
area in Carbondale. Two Storm Trailers are now at the new staging
area. There also is a Storm Trailer in Murphysboro and two in
Marion. The Storm Trailers are mobile storerooms, stocked with the
material field crews need to get the lights back on. The trailers
are moved to central staging sites to provide essential materials
in the areas with the greatest damage. To further facilitate the
restoration work, AIU has established a base camp in Marion to
provide a centralized location to provide meals for personnel.
Because of the shortage of motel rooms, the base camp also has
trailers that can sleep about 200 AIU workers. "I have said this
before, but I again will stress that safety must be everyone's top
priority. Nothing else is more important. Stay away from downed
power lines. Never operate a portable generator indoors. When
operating a portable generator, first open the main breaker or
remove the main fuses before connecting the generator to your
electrical system," Pate said. According to the American Red Cross,
storm shelters have been established at the Senior Center, 507 W.
Main St., Marion; Herrin High School, 700 N. Tenth St., Herrin;
First Methodist Church of Herrin, 305 S. 16th St., Herrin;
Rehabilitation & Care Center of Jackson County, 1441 N. 14th
St., Murphysboro; Community Building, 406 S. Poplar St., Bush;
Christopher Civic Center, 208 N. Thomas St., Christopher, and Our
Saviors Lutheran, 700 S. University, Carbondale. For additional
information, contact the Red Cross office at 665 N. Airport Rd.,
Murphysboro, at 1-618-988-1147. Residents who must repair
customer-owned facilities, such as the meter base, weatherhead or
point of attachment, should have this work performed by a
professional electrical contractor. These repairs must be completed
before service can be safely restored. The Ameren Illinois
Utilities (AmerenCIPS, AmerenCILCO, AmerenIP) have been providing
safe, reliable energy delivery service for more than a century. The
Ameren Illinois Utilities deliver energy to 1.2 million electric
and 840,000 natural gas customers in more than 1,200 communities
within a 43,700-square-mile service territory. SAFETY ADVICE:
Ameren offers these tips for your safety and for coping with power
outages: Check on the elderly. If you know an elderly person in
your neighborhood that 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: -- Raw or cooked meat, poultry and seafood --
Milk, cream, yogurt and soft cheeses -- Cooked pasta and pasta
salads -- Custard, chiffon and cheese pies -- Fresh eggs and egg
substitutes -- Meat-topped pizza and lunch meats -- Casseroles,
soups and stews -- Mayonnaise and tartar sauce -- Cookie dough
These foods should be safe for a few days without power: -- Butter
and margarine -- Fresh fruits and vegetables -- Opened jars of
salad dressing, jelly, relish, taco sauce, barbecue sauce, mustard,
ketchup and olives -- Hard and processed cheeses DATASOURCE: Ameren
Illinois Utilities CONTACT: Neal Johnson, +1-309-677-5284, or
Victoria Busch, +1-618-614-3032, or Leigh Morris, +1-217-535-5228,
all for Ameren Illinois Utilities Web Site: http://www.ameren.com/
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