ALTON/GODFREY - The Alton-Godfrey area appears to be some of the hardest hit with severe thunderstorms that rolled through the area Monday night.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
Ameren Illinois spokesperson Brian Bretsch said high winds caused an outage on Monday, April 1, 2024, evening in Alton.
"Around 6:50 p.m. on Monday, we started receiving customer calls as well as our system showing us a power outage of 2,515 customers – 192 in Godfrey and 2,322 in Alton.
"Crews were dispatched and found a power line had dropped into a second power line. Just before 8 p.m., crews and dispatch worked to reroute power to other sources in the area to safely restore nearly 1,900 customers. The 500 remaining customers were restored at 10 p.m., when crews safely placed the downed power line back into service.”
One of the main strikes was lightning that hit a high-voltage line and struck another circuit and had the Alton Beltline out of power just east of Alby Street. Ameren had power restored there within a few hours.
Granite City had a couple of small single outages and one outage was reported in Hillsboro, Bretsch shared.
Bretsch said Ameren remains on alert today and another round of rain and thunderstorms is forecasted in our service territory.
Ameren is offering some customers tips when it comes to generator safety:
- Call Ameren Illinois if you plan to install back-up generation.
- Carefully read and follow the instructions for proper connection and use of a permanent or portable standby generator. You are required by law to ensure that no electricity from your standby power generator back feeds into Ameren’s power lines during an outage.
- Proper installation of a generator is critical. Improper use cannot only damage your equipment or electrical system, but also potentially result in injury or death to those who use them and to utility workers.
- Do not directly connect a portable generator with your electrical system. A direct connection could result in voltage on utility lines and presents a significant safety concern for utility workers and generator owners. Contact a qualified professional for connections of this type.
- Ensure that the total electric load on your generator will not exceed the manufacturer's rating.
- Never use a portable generator indoors. Place a portable generator outdoors in a dry area far away from doors, windows and vents.
- Exercise extreme caution when handling fuel for portable generators. Do not attempt to refuel your generator while it is running. Let the generator cool down before adding fuel.
More like this:
