Ameren workers across Illinois and Missouri are heading to the East Coast to assist in repairing damage and restoring power outages in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
Approximately 125 Ameren personnel and 210 contractor personnel, including line workers, fleet, logistics and safety, will assist crews from AEP Appalachian Power in Charleston, West Virginia. Four personnel are from the Mt. Vernon and Centralia operating centers.
The Edison Electric Institute’s (EEI) National Response executive committee declared a Level 1 National Response Event requesting any available resources in support of Hurricane Helene. Ameren is a member of EEI and a member of the Midwest Mutual Assistance Group.
Ameren Illinois and Ameren Missouri are voluntary members of the electric power industry’s mutual assistance network through EEI. When called upon, a company will send either company employees, contractors or both, along with specialized equipment to help with the restoration efforts of a fellow company. This allows a utility hit by a major or catastrophic storm to expand its workforce by borrowing field personnel from other companies in unaffected areas. In 2023, Ameren and its customers were recipients of mutual aid when a derecho hit central Illinois in late June, followed by two additional storms in Missouri and Illinois.
