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What Role Do Trees Play in Power Outages?
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Following a major thunderstorm or ice storm, you may experience a power outage due to downed trees or tree limbs on power lines in or near your neighborhood.
In some areas, removing trees and limbs from our power lines can be a major job, depending on the extent of the damage to our distribution system.
Ameren follows a comprehensive storm response plan to restore power to your home as quickly as possible. These are the steps:
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Immediately following a storm, damage assessment scouts—called field checkers— evaluate the extent of the damage to our distribution system.
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Based on that evaluation, tree trimming crews, contracted by Ameren, are sent to the areas that have experienced the most extensive tree damage to begin removing tree limbs—and sometimes entire trees—from the power lines.
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Only after tree trimming crews clear the debris from the power lines can Ameren’s trouble and line crews can begin restoring power to your area. Even after limbs and trees are cleared, it may be some time before repairs can be made and power restored.
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Please Note:
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When a power outage occurs, our top priority is to repair the equipment that affects the most customers first, and where possible, equipment that supplies power to hospitals and other emergency facilities.
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After that, we move on to make repairs that affect the next largest group of customers. Then the next.
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Finally, we make the repairs that affect only single customers or small groups of customers.
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See our Distribution System for more information.
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Tree Trimming Procedures and Cycles
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As part of a continual effort to improve service reliability for its customers, Ameren in 2005 increased its tree-trimming budget by 27 percent, to $30 million in Missouri alone.
This increase addresses the existing backlog in tree-trimming cycles on the company’s distribution system in rural and suburban areas, as noted by the Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC).
Ameren’s goal is to eliminate that backlog on or before Dec. 31, 2008. The company has begun the process of reducing its tree trimming backlog, and in some areas is slightly ahead of schedule.
However, even after Ameren totally eliminates the company’s tree-trimming backlog, tree-related outages can still occur in severe storm conditions.
For more information, visit our Tree Trimming and Vegetation Management site.
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Please Note:
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Ameren does not haul away storm debris from storm damaged trees. Contact a local tree and debris removal company for assistance.
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