The Ameren Illinois utilities have assigned nearly 150 Ameren employees as well as more than 270 workers from other contracting companies to restore electrical service in Jacksonville and other Central and West Central Illinois communities. Additional Ameren and external workers will arrive later in the day.

The weekend ice storm left ice coatings of up to 1 inch, resulting in a loss of service for customers in Menard, Cass, Morgan, Brown, Scott, Logan, Calhoun, Jersey and neighboring counties in Illinois. Crews worked through Sunday and into night, restoring service to several thousand customers.

Jacksonville was the hardest hit area. As of 9:40 a.m. today, about 7,500 customers are without electrical service in the Jacksonville area. About 2,500 customers remain without service primarily in Logan, Scott, Calhoun and Jersey counties. Ameren Illinois utilities estimate all outages will be restored to service by midnight today unless there is further damage due to icing, wind or other weather conditions. Updates will be provided later today.

"We appreciate our customers' patience during these extended outages," said Bill Prebil, vice president, Ameren Illinois utilities. "Our crews and contractors are working hard and safely to restore service as promptly as possible. We are working closely with city officials and emergency response personnel to coordinate restoration efforts and ensure customer safety."