As the surrounding area is in the midst of the severe storm weather months, it is important to be prepared. Having an emergency kit with water and non-perishable canned goods readily available in case of a power outage is ideal. Ron Pate, Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives with Ameren, reports the team is very proactive in the event of an upcoming storm:
“We monitor, as you can imagine, we are a 24/7 staff monitoring the weather and our facilities conditions. We try to be very proactive when we see a particular storm coming through or the possibility of a storm, we will move equipment in there early before the storm even hits. We will move material trailers in that are capable of restoring 100 downed distribution poles without having to get more material. We will even move personnel into that area so they are able to respond very quickly and give an assessment of the damage so we can get even more people on the property. I think that’s the main thing, being proactive like that, and that is our strategy, to get there ahead of it,” Pate shares.
In the last couple of years, Pate says the increase in the pace of automation and customer service has positively assisted in response times to power outages.
