Local electric companies prepare for severe weather

JEFFERSON CITY — High winds, heavy rain, hail, and the threat of tornadoes are expected this time of year.

This is why local electric companies have been improving response times when the power goes out.

Jason Hanum, director of the Ameren Central Missouri Division, noted a recent success in Moberly after adding new locations of their Smart Grid Technology, in addition to Jefferson City and Booneville.

“Just a few weeks ago, when we had power outages both in Moberly and in Boonville. At our peak, we had approximately 1,300 customers out of power. Within minutes, around 200 of those were automatically restored,” said Hanum.

The grid speeds up communication about problem areas.

“When those storms blow through an area, after that assessment is done, the smart switches talk to each other. They can quickly restore sections of the power, tie substations together, do a lot of the work before we’re actually on site with crews, allowing US to focus on getting the crews, the material, and everybody on site safely, and then safely restoring power for those customers,” said Hanum.

Meanwhile, in Cole County, power outages from mid-April storms affected almost 100 residents.

With looming severe weather risks going into next week, Missouri Electric Cooperative (AMEC) has played a key role in response efforts.

“Our highest outages generally occur in situations or storm events like those that are from trees usually falling across the LINE, either tearing the LINE down or breaking poles. We have a mutual aid assistance program that began in 1948, and we exercise that mutual aid assistance program where we will dispatch crews from other co-ops,” Johnie Hendricks, Vice President of Risk Management.

Preparation has started as all co-ops are on standby in the case of an emergency.

“They’re closely monitoring the weather, they’re working along with their statewide team to see the impact or the areas that could have the highest impact, what the storms are supposed to be doing across those areas,” said Hendricks.