UPDATED 7/17 9:45 A.M.
PEORIA, Ill. – Ameren says it has crews working around the clock to bring back online customers left in the dark from Monday night’s storms.
Spokesman Brian Bretsch says efforts started at 9:30 P.M. Monday for a multi-day restoration effort.
“Every available boot on the ground is currently working in restoration. That is both Ameren Illinois employees, as well as contractors in the area,” Bretsch said. “We’ve asked for some help from our partners from Ameren Missouri, and from some of our crews in the southern portion of our service territories.”
Bretsch says Ameren could call on resources from Wisconsin and Ohio, and as far away as South Carolina to come help with restoration efforts.
The utility says nearly 64,000 customers across northern and central Illinois lost power from Monday’s storms, which brought high winds. It says 27,000 customers had power restored as of 10:30 A.M. Monday.
As of 9:45 A.M. Wednesday, 3,337 customers in Tazewell County were still without power, compared to 1,265 in Peoria County and 243 in Woodford County.
Ameren says it hopes to have 80% of customers restored by 10:00 P.M. Wednesday, with Bretsch saying the utility will prioritize hospitals and first responder buildings, followed by high voltage lines or transmission poles that serve many customers.
“They provide the most power for the most people, so by replacing a transmission line that was down, or repairing a pole, that may get us five to six thousand customers restored fairly quickly,” Bretsch said.
Bretsch says crews will then repair distribution and substations. He asks people to be patient as the utility works to get customers back online.
Bretsch says for people who may be concerned about houses without power getting hot, he suggests people lock the house to protect valuables. He also suggests taking a ride in a car, visiting neighbors, or a cooler location, such as a mall.
Bretsch says food in refrigerators should be good for the first 48 hours, as long as the doors stay closed.
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