Widespread power outage after Friday morning storm

Ameren Illinois activated its Emergency Operations Center at 6:30 a.m. on Friday morning to assess damage caused by severe weather throughout southern and central Illinois.

Electric crew members and contractors worked to restore power for customers impacted by the severe thunderstorm. Linemen and support personnel were moved to the impacted areas to assess the damage and restore power to customers as quickly and safely as possible.

The early morning weather system felled tree limbs in local neighborhoods, knocking wires down and more than 120 power poles, causing more than 53,000 outages in th...