Ameren Ordered to Suggest Solutions

State regulators have ordered Missouri’s largest power company to tell them within 30 days how it will avoid another major power outage after a big storm. Other utilities might do well to pay attention. Public Service Commission chairman Jeff Davis says the ink is hardly dry on the report of Ameren-UE’s response to summer storms in the St. Louis area….and now the company has been dealing with another huge power outage from another kind of storm. Ameren-UE reported about 6 o-clock this morning that it still had 20,988 customers without power, most of them in Illinois. The company maintains a map on its website, www.ameren.com, that shows outage areas by zip code. The Commission wants Ameren to put some reasonable, effective suggestions before the commisison early next month so the commission can take action before legisaltors do. Davis says lessons from this storm can be applied to utilities in other parts of the state. One recommendation already has come from the report filed last month about summer storm response–a reliability report. If the PSC implements the report, the commission could compile a report card showing duration and frequency of their outages and the number of customers who lose power. He says customers would benefit from the information. Davis says the commission cannot fine utility companies if they’re not reliable but it can order them to make upgrades. He says the commission’s latest demand is a reflection of commission and consumer frustration with storm outages. He says people expect to have electricity and heat and it’s up to the PSC and the utilities to make sure those services are available.