Utility companies prepare for severe weather and widespread power outages
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Mid-Missouri is once again bracing for severe weather Thursday afternoon, and local electric utilities have crews on standby.
The ABC 17 Stormtrack Weather Team is tracking strong to severe storms Thursday night and into the evening that could bring large hail and a low chance for tornadoes.
After more than 1,400 Mid-Missouri residents were without power Thursday morning, utilities say they always have crews ready in the event of widespread outages.
Ameren Missouri
Ameren Missouri serves more than 1.2 million electric customers in Missouri. Distribution Operating Director Ben Lynch said Ameren uses the National Weather Service and other reputable sources to determine where to send their resources during severe weather.
"We're using the National Weather Service and other reputable sources to understand when the storms may occur, where the storms may occur, and then we're making decisions to make sure we move our resources to where we think the storms could occur so we can safely pick up our customers as quickly as we can," Lynch said.
He said most of the company's crews are working Thursday afternoon, and it will make decisions throughout the night to determine if crews need to stay or be moved to other areas throughout the state.
"Each forecast is different, but we're trying to understand where it may occur," Lynch said. "Then, we will be moving crews around to ensure we can safely pick up our customers as quickly as possible."
Lynch said single-person crews go out early on during the storms to assess the damage, isolate issues and see what work can be done. Three-person crews come around after the storm to make major repairs and pick up large damage.
Boone Electric Cooperative
Boone Electric Cooperative serves 35,000 meters. Spokesperson Zach Smith said the co-op has 30 lineworkers. All of the lineworkers are always on call.
"It's always storm season in Mid-Missouri," Smith said. "We're always looking at the weather, we've always got equipment ready to go, vehicles ready to go, lineworkers ready to go in the case that they need to be sent out to restore power somewhere."
He said the co-op has an extensive aid network to draw crews from elsewhere in the region and the country, if necessary.
In the case of a widespread outage, Smith said office workers, operators and engineers will all be called in to help dispatch calls and crews, as well.
Columbia Water and Light
Columbia Water and Light spokesperson Matt Nestor said in an email the city monitors the incoming weather. For Thursday, he said one crew was on-hand to address immediate problems, with the rest of the crews on standby.
Nestor said it's important for customers to report outages so utilities can determine which neighborhoods are experiencing outages.
Columbia Water and Light, Boone Electric Cooperative and Ameren Missouri all say that after public and worker safety, their priority is to begin repairing areas that impact the largest amount of people.
"In the event of a large outage, we're always going to try to get the most people that we can back up and running first," Smith said.
All three utilities say each repair is different and will take different amounts of time to repair.
ABC 17 News reached out to Three Rivers Electric Cooperative.
