The following is a press release from Ameren Illinois.
Ameren Illinois Issues Status Update for Power Restoration Efforts
COLLINSVILLE, Ill. (July 2, 2023) – Despite rising heat and humidity and the widespread damage that has challenged power restoration efforts in central and southern Illinois, Ameren Illinois crews have restored approximately 165,000 customer outages since Thursday when severe weather first struck. The company continues to make steady progress on restoration efforts in the wake of multiple severe weather events in the company’s service territory over the last three days.
Customers who have reported an outage or signed up for alerts will receive notification on the status of their individual outage. For more information go to AmerenIllinois.com/outage.
Situation
- Over the course of three days, electric service to more than 225,000 customers has been interrupted due to damages caused by the intense storms. Ameren Illinois crews have worked around the clock to restore power to approximately 165,000 customers.
- As of 12:00 p.m. today, approximately 56,000 customers are without power in the service territory. Customers are out of power in 80 Illinois counties; major outage pockets include the areas of Decatur, Springfield, Danville, Champaign, Belleville, Maryville and Columbia, Illinois.
- Ameren Illinois representatives are coordinating with local and state officials and agencies to get service safely restored. Customers who have reported an outage or signed up for alerts will receive notification on the status of their individual outage.
- 2,800 workers are engaged in restoration, including resources from 12 nearby states and representing 34 different contractor companies. Crews will safely work until every customer is restored.
- As of 10:30 a.m. July 2, approximately 1,205 poles (sub-transmission and distribution) have been damaged or destroyed.
With excessive heat in the forecast, Ameren Illinois is encouraging customers to check on friends and neighbors and individuals with special needs. Information on cooling centers can be found by contacting your local county officials.
Customer safety tips
- Call Ameren Illinois at 1-800-755-5000 as soon as possible to report a downed line, natural gas odor, or an outage.
- Residents are reminded to stay away from downed power lines because these lines may still be energized. Stay away from brush, shrubs and fallen trees that may be hiding these lines.
Food safety tips
During or following a power outage, follow these food safety tips:
- If in doubt, throw it out. Remember, never taste suspicious food.
- Keep your refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible – this will keep foods cold for about four hours. A full freezer will keep the temperature for about 48 hours if the door remains closed. A freezer that is half full will keep the temperature for about 24 hours.
- Be sure to keep meat, seafood, and dairy products as cold as possible. Discard any perishable food that has been above 40°F for over two hours.
- If it looks like the power outage will continue beyond a day, prepare a cooler with ice for your freezer items.
- Generally, the following items can be kept on a countertop:
- Jams and jellies
- Butter and margarine
- Ketchup, mustard, pickles, relish and similar condiments
- Fresh uncut fruits and vegetables
- For guidelines on specific foods, visit the FoodSafety.gov website.
Real-time outage details and safety information are available at Ameren.com/outage. Customers and media can also receive updates on outage restoration by following the Ameren Illinois news feed at twitter.com/AmerenIllinois and Facebook.com/AmerenIllinois.
