Swamps, Mud, Downed Trees Challenge Storm Restoration Work as Ameren Illinois Utilities Work Into Night to Turn Lights On
May 11 2009 - 7:49PM
PR Newswire (US)
Customer Service Centers Opened in Carbondale, Marion, Herrin,
Carterville MARION, Ill., May 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Swamps,
mud, downed trees and other difficult off-road conditions continue
to challenge the Ameren Illinois Utilities (AIU) workforce of 1,900
field and support staff who are working into the nighttime hours to
get the lights back on for customers in Franklin, Jackson, Saline
and Williamson counties. Bulldozers, helicopters and other
specialized equipment capable of dealing with swamp conditions have
been deployed in this massive service restoration effort, while
additional personnel are arriving this evening. Central crew and
staging base camps have been established in Carbondale and Marion
to further facilitate the service restoration work. At 5:50 p.m.
today, about 33,100 AIU residential and business customers are
still without electric service, down from the peak outage count of
68,800 customers. Over the past 76 hours, service has been restored
to about 35,700 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. Gov. Pat Quinn has
declared Franklin, Jackson and Williamson counties as disaster
areas. "The loss of electricity has disrupted the lives of people
in Southern Illinois, which has been compounded by property damage
suffered by many residents. All of this can be very frustrating,
but we want to assure you that we have been at this work for 76
hours and will continue until every light is back on," said Ron
Pate, AIU vice president of Regional Operations. "We are reaching
out to the leaders of communities throughout the storm ravaged
area. We want to make certain they know what is being done to get
the power flowing and we want to make certain they are getting the
information they need," said Sean Vanslyke, AIU manager of
Community and Public Relations. The Ameren Illinois Utilities also
have reached out by establishing temporary Customer Service Centers
as follows: Southwest entrance Illinois Centre Mall, Marion;
Carbondale City Hall, 200 S. Illinois Ave.; Herrin City Hall, 300
N. Park Ave., and Community Food Pantry, 121 W. Illinois Ave.,
Carterville. Safety continues to be a major concern. Since many
people are using portable generators, we want to remind them to
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.
Failure to do this could seriously injure utility crews working on
outside power lines, and/or it could cause damage to a neighbor's
property or the customer's own equipment. 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).
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 of Ameren Illinois Utilities Web Site: http://www.ameren.com/
http://www.illinoisoutage.com/
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