Outage FAQs
1.	Q.	Who's responsible for paying for storm damage repairs?
	A.	Ameren is responsible for the service line from the pole to where the line touches your home and for the electric meter itself. You, the homeowner, are responsible for the service bracket, the weatherhead, the riser pipe and the meter box. Note: only a licensed electrician should ever attempt to work on this equipment.    If the meter box is pulled away from your house and you have no power, an Ameren company representative will perform a temporary fix. You, the homeowner, are responsible for contacting an electrician for a permanent fix. Once your home is correctly wired, Ameren company representatives will replace your meter―free of charge.    If the meter box is pulled away from the house and you have power, you should call a licensed electrician to re-attach it.    See Maintaining Your Service.
2.	Q.	What are you doing to reduce power outages?
	A.	Power outages have two components: number and duration. At Ameren, we are committed to reducing both through a variety of year-round, ongoing efforts:
			We trim trees on a regular cycle to prevent them from damaging or blowing into power lines.
			We use lightning arresters to provide a harmless path to the ground for electrical surges.
			We have remote sensing devices that help us diagnose and troubleshoot problems before they become major concerns.
			We have installed switching devices to reroute power remotely to reduce outage duration times.
			We install animal guards around our field equipment to protect against short circuits caused by animals.
			We continually upgrade and expand our facilities to keep pace with growth in our area and enhance reliability.
3.	Q.	What are the most common causes of power outages?
	A.	The following can cause outages:
			Storms (fallen tree limbs, lightning strikes, high winds, ice, etc.)
			Digging (hitting a power line can cause damage-and also serious injury) Call JULIE or Missouri One Call before you dig!
			Traffic accidents (vehicle collisions with utility poles or equipment)
			Animals (small animals sometimes chew into lines or come into contact with a piece of equipment or an energized line)
			Equipment failures
		Sometimes you may have a power outage and barely notice it. Such outages, called "momentary outages," or "momentaries," can be as brief as one eight-thousandth of a second. These often result when our automatic sensing equipment detects a potentially dangerous condition and temporarily breaks the power flow, protecting essential parts of our delivery system from major damage. Power may be out just long enough that equipment in your home, such as a VCR or microwave, may need reprogramming.
4.	Q.	Why should I call to report my outage―don't you have automated meters?
		Automated meters are currently located primarily in Missouri. They do send a signal that your home may be out of power, but in a major storm when many meters are sending signals, the computer clusters them, giving us strong indications of where to dispatch crews quickly. However, we may have solved the problem for most of that cluster of customers, but not for you. That's why you should call your Ameren company to report an outage, even if you have an automated meter. Your phone call helps us analyze the specific problem and restore power more quickly.
5.	Q.	What happens when I report an outage?
	A.	Your call generates a work order. The orders are sent through our outage management system for analysis to determine the outage’s most likely cause. Orders are then dispatched to troubleshooters who go to the locations of the outages to assess the problem. If the troubleshooters can’t repair the problem, a line crew is called out to make repairs.   We have a highly trained work force dedicated to stepping in when major storms hit. People from all departments participate in the effort to ensure power is restored as quickly and safely as possible. Line crews from throughout our Missouri and Illinois service territory are reassigned to damaged areas to help us respond more quickly during major storms. We also have agreements with out-of-town utility crews to bring in extra assistance if the situation requires it.    In addition, our entire staff of customer service representatives is on-call during major outages of extended duration. Our interactive and highly automated voice response system allows us to handle thousands of calls simultaneously.    Personnel from our Corporate Communications department are available seven days a week to provide the media with outage information when requested.
6.	Q.	Why are my neighbor's lights back on―but not mine?
	A.	You may see Ameren crews in your neighborhood who do not stop to restore your power. This happens when they are working to repair the substation supply lines or large feeder trunk lines that ultimately serve you. Feeder lines typically run for several miles and crews must repair them before they can restore your service―so you may not see an Ameren crew in your neighborhood, but crews are still working to restore your power. Our crews work until all Ameren customers are restored. Our first priority is to correct potentially life-threatening situations, such as downed power lines or hospitals without power. We then implement detailed and tested power restoration plans designed to get power back to the greatest number of people in the shortest amount of time. Electricity gets from power plants to your home over a complex grid of lines and equipment. High-voltage electricity goes from a generating plant to a substation, where the voltage is lowered so that energy can travel over our distribution system. Electricity then goes over “primary lines” to “secondary lines,” which distribute it throughout neighborhoods. It finally arrives at individual meters from transformers that feed service drops. See the distribution system illustration.    In outages, restoration crews begin with main lines―those that can restore power to perhaps thousands of people. Then they move to lines that can affect hundreds; secondary lines that affect dozens; and finally to service drops at individual homes. This is why homes in the same neighborhoods can be restored at different times and why businesses are sometimes restored first because of their high-traffic locations along primary lines. Throughout the restoration process, we maintain contact with state and local emergency management agencies and designated company staff who keep the news media and public officials up-to-date on the status of restoration efforts.
7.	Q.	How can I tell the difference between telephone, television cable and electrical lines? How can I tell if standing water is electrified? How can I tell if a fallen line still has electricity in it?
	A.	Consider all cables and wires to be energized regardless of whether they are electrical, cable television or telephone. If a line is in the water, there is even more reason to be cautious and consider it and the water energized. Please keep children away from all flooded areas and areas with lots of debris as the water or storm debris could be hiding an energized line.
8.	Q.	Is it safe for me to walk my neighborhood right after the storm passes, just to get out of the house, or to determine how bad the neighborhood got hit by the storm?
	A.	Stay away from downed lines, flooding and debris. Don't walk in standing water and don't venture out in the dark because you won't be able to see a power line that could still be energized and dangerous.
9.	Q.	What precautions should I take if I'm returning to a home or business that has been flooded?
	A.	Follow these tips:
			If you have any doubts about the integrity of your home or business electrical system as a result of flooding, check with local officials or a licensed electrician.
			Do not stand in water when operating switches, plugging in or unplugging appliances or resetting breakers or replacing fuses.
			Do not attempt to reset breakers or replace fuses until all water has receded. Use caution. Some circuits above the flood level may still be energized.
			Disconnect all electrical appliances before attempting to reset breakers or replace fuses. Be sure to wear dry shoes with rubber soles and stand on something dry and non-conductive, such as a dry piece of wood or wooden furniture.
			Use a dry and non-conductive “tool” such as a wooden stick or piece of PVC pipe in one hand when resetting breaker box and other grounded objects in the area.
			Call a licensed electrician if breakers will not reset and continue to trip. This condition might indicate a short circuit in your electrical system.
			Check for water damage in all appliances and make sure cords and other parts are dry before re-plugging into wall sockets.
			Disconnect an appliance immediately if a breaker trips, a fuse blows, or you see smoke or smell a burning odor. Have it checked by a qualified appliance serviceperson.