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Ameren provides update on power restoration efforts

Jun 30, 2023 | 1:36 PM

June 30, 2023 – A severe storm line Thursday left more than a 500-mile stretch of widespread and unique incidents of damage across several Midwest states and caused more than 180,000 Ameren Illinois customers to lose power. Ameren says they are working to restore service, starting with the areas hardest hit.

Ameren says hail, high winds, and reported tornadoes contributed to the electric infrastructure damage. Preliminary wind maps show winds exceeding 85 MPH in some locations. 

Ameren Illinois crews worked throughout Thursday evening and Friday morning to begin restoration efforts. As of 8 a.m. today, crews had restored more than 70,000 customers, or 45 percent of the overall damage. 

Ameren stated that representatives are coordinating with local and state officials and agencies to get service safely restored. Customers are encouraged to sign up for alerts for specific restoration details related to their outage. 

In a release, Ameren Illinois said they have deployed all available internal resources, plus, more than 1,000 outside contractor personnel from 20 different utility resources.

Due to the scope of damage and the significant number of outages throughout the Ameren Illinois service territory, many customers should expect to be without power through Saturday evening. Some customers could have their power restored sooner and other outages could last longer.   

Ameren expects to begin providing Estimated Safe Restoration Times to individual customers later this afternoon and into the evening.  

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. 

Real-time outage details and safety information are available at Ameren.com/outage.