Ameren Illinois Storm Communications Update

9:30 a.m. Saturday, August 15, 2026

Summary

Excellent progress was made overnight to restore power in the Bloomington-Normal area. A line of storms after midnight caused some new outages in the northern and western parts of the territory. Since the storms began at noon on August 13, crews have restored more than 50,000 outages. More than 900 resources remain actively engaged in restoration, with more than 800 on the ground in the Bloomington-Normal area.

The primary concern today is the substantial amount of rainfall the region has experienced. Over five inches of rain was reported in some communities.

Crews remain on track to meet the posted ESRT of 6 p.m. today (August 15) for customer outages in the Bloomington-Normal area.

CURRENT SITUATION

• Approximately 9,000 customers are without power at the time of this report.
• Crews have restored more than 50,000 outages since noon on Aug. 13.
• Ameren Illinois activated its Incident Management Team (IMT) at 4:25 p.m., on Aug. 13 to coordinate resources and support restoration operations. The IMT remains activated.
• See the Ameren outage map for the latest: ameren.com/outagemap

RESTORATION PROGRESS

• More than 900 resources are engaged in restoration.
• Wet conditions may impact the pace of restoration as crews take extra precautions to perform the repair work safely.

ESTIMATED SAFE RESTORATION TIMES (ESRT)

• Bloomington/Normal - 80% of remaining outages will be restored by 6 p.m., today (Aug. 15). Global ESRTs were entered on outage orders yesterday and customers were notified of their ESRT directly.
• All other regions are in normal operating conditions with standard restoration times expected.

COMMUNICATION

• Today, we will post updated restoration figures on our social channels and reinforce customer safety protocols in wet/flooded areas.
• Outage details and safety information are available at Ameren.com/outage. The banner message on the outage map has been updated. Customers and media can also receive updates on outage restoration by following the Ameren Illinois news feed at X: AmerenIllinois and Facebook.com/AmerenIllinois.

CUSTOMER SAFETY

• The region experienced significant rainfall and some areas have experienced flooding. Avoid any risk of electrical shock and do not enter any flooded areas.

• Stay clear of any downed power lines or poles, as well as brush, shrubs and downed trees that may hide them. Always assume a downed wire is live.

• Report any downed power lines to Ameren Illinois via the app or customer service line (800.755.5000).

• If the power is out, check circuit breakers or fuses - an outage might be the result of a household problem.
• We encourage customers to check on elderly neighbors or others who may need assistance during outages.
• We are reminding customers that certain electrical equipment on the outside of a home or business, like the weather head, is owned by the customer. If this equipment is damaged during a storm, it must be repaired by a qualified electrician before we can restore power to the home. https://vimeo.com/1100684393?share=copy&fl=cl&fe=ci
• We understand storm cleanup can be challenging. To safely restore power and assist as many customers as possible, our forestry crews focus on removing only the vegetation necessary to make electric repairs. Tree limbs and other debris are not stacked or bundled, and cleanup is the property owner's responsibility.
• Generator safety - https://www.ameren.com/company/safety/extreme-weather-safety/portable-generator-safety