What to do During an Outage

What should I do?

• Check circuit breakers or fuses - your service outage might be the result of a household problem.
• Report your outage
• Call an electrician if you see standing water near electrical wiring or appliances. Avoid any risk of electrical shock and do not enter the flooded area.
• Check outside near your electric meter. If you observe any damage, call an electrician.
• Unplug computer, televisions and other equipment that may be damaged if an electrical power surge occurs during the restoration efforts. And, you may want to leave a light turned on so you know when power is restored.
• Stay alert for natural gas odors. If you smell natural gas, or if you hear a blowing or hissing noise, leave the area immediately and call: 
  • 800.755.5000 in Illinois
  • 800.552.7583 in Missouri

My power is out, but where's the storm?

• Most power outages are weather-related and caused by severe storms, but power outages can happen at any time - even when the weather seems perfect.
  Outages can be caused by traffic accidents, construction work, equipment malfunction and even animals.

• Sometimes these outages can be very short - so short that you may not notice them. Called momentary outages, the lights may flicker and you may need to re-set your digital clocks. Momentary outages typically occur when your automated equipment detects a potentially serious condition and temporarily breaks the flow of electricity, which protects essential parts of our delivery system from possible damage.

Ways to be prepared for momentary outages:

• Use surge protectors to help prevent damage to valuable electronics.
• Consider purchasing electronics, like an alarm clock, with battery backup.
• Use an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) with built-in batteries to power your computer during momentary outages.
• If you experience several momentary outages within the same week, call us. If the issue persists, an electrician may be needed to check the wiring within your home.