September 17, 2024
Super Storm Poles help strengthen the grid in southeastern Missouri
Shortly after sunrise on May 26, a pair of strong tornadoes formed in southeast Missouri, damaging homes and businesses, toppling trees and snapping power poles.
The City of Dexter was particularly hard hit by an EF-2 tornado with winds reaching upwards of 125 mph, while an EF-3 tornado tore across three counties and left a trail of damage from south of Morehouse to north of Sikeston.
As Ameren crews surveyed the damage and worked to safely restore power, they found more than 90 poles across the area had been snapped by the storms.
Through the Smart Energy Plan, Ameren Missouri has been investing in storm-hardening upgrades throughout southeast Missouri aimed at minimizing this type of damage. Along Highway 114, for instance, the company is upgrading more than 6 miles of overhead lines between Morehouse and Miner.
These enhancements include the addition of six super storm poles – dual-layer composite poles secured with guy wires. These super storm poles are designed to withstand violent wind gusts and act as an anchor for the rest of the poles on the circuit.
"One issue we see is a cascading effect – where one broken pole pulls more down with it, like dominoes,” says Russ Burger, division director for Ameren Missouri’s Southeast Missouri division. “Super storm and other composite poles help minimize this type of damage, which can help improve restoration times.
The Morehouse to Miner project also addresses “galloping” lines caused by high, straight-line winds by installing simple PVC coils known as air flow spoilers. These devices minimize potentially damaging movement, especially if the lines are weighed down by ice in the winter.
Ameren Missouri has completed storm-hardening upgrades, like this project, on over 200 circuit miles across the state through the Smart Energy Plan. These hardened lines have experienced a significant reduction in outages as a result. “We understand how important reliability is for the people who live and work in this area,” says Burger. “These improvements will make the grid more resilient and support improved reliability for more than 900 customers.
The upgrades along this section of circuit are expected to be completed in December 2024.
