ST. LOUIS, Dec. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
-- Nearly 230,000 Ameren Illinois customers across 44,000 square miles in
Illinois are out of power today as Ameren officials assess the damage
caused by a massive winter storm that hit the area Nov. 30 and Dec. 1.
This ranks as the worst ice storm in Ameren companies' history.
-- Hardest hit areas are Central Illinois and Southern Illinois --
including the Metro East area. Tens of thousands of customers have been
restored today, but with tree limbs falling on lines that are still
weighted by the ice, many new outages are occurring.
-- More than 550 Ameren Illinois companies' employees and contractors are
working to restore power to customers -- approximately 900 crews from
contractors and other utility companies will soon be in the area to
help restore power. Calls went out requesting help from more 20
utilities located as far north as Canada and as far south as the Gulf
of Mexico. Crews are coming from 14 states -- Alabama, Georgia,
Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, North
Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin. However,
major highway shutdowns earlier in the day and treacherous road
conditions have hampered crews' ability to reach affected areas.
-- Due to the severe weather conditions and extensive damage, lengthy
outages are expected. Customers are urged to seek shelter, to unplug
electrical equipment and turn off their furnaces. Customers should
stay away from the many downed wires caused by the storm. Ameren
Illinois companies cannot offer customers anticipated restoration times
but will make those available as soon as possible.
-- The Ameren Illinois companies are working closely with city and state
officials and emergency response personnel to coordinate restoration
efforts and ensure customer safety.
Ameren , through its subsidiaries, serves 2.4 million electric customers and one million natural gas customers in a 64,000-square-mile area of Missouri and Illinois.
