ALTON - Ameren Illinois said late Friday morning it is making significant progress with power restoration to customers after the severe wind/rain storm Thursday evening.
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At its peak after the storm, 83,000 Ameren customers were without power. Ameren workers repaired lines through the night and at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Ameren Illinois spokesperson Brian Bretsch said only 4,800 remained without power.
“The power outage was widespread,” Bretsch said. “We had a lot of wind and lightning and lots of tree limbs came down and trees toppled.”
St. Clair County was handcuffed with the most power outages in the region because of the impact of the storm, Bretsch said.
“This storm started in Godfrey and moved to Southeastern Illinois. We have had customers as far away as Harrisburg without power, which is near the Kentucky border.”
Bretsch stressed that with an excessive heat warning out, people should visit a friend or family member until their power is restored.
“We don’t want anyone putting themselves in danger in a house without AC,” he said.
“Madison and St. Clair counties are setting up cooling centers to visit because of the heat. You can visit our outage map to find cooling center locations.”
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