Power restored for most families after January outages

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KBSI) – A sense of relief is in the air for many families in the area, as most have regained power after days without it during January’s ice storm.

Officials from Citizens Electric in Perryville say they’ve worked tirelessly to restore power, ensuring that most customers now have their lights and heat back on.

Kelli Behrle, communications specialist for Citizens Electric, explained that the previous storm is still fresh in everyone’s minds.

“In January, we experienced heavy ice, which put a lot of weight on the infrastructure, breaking poles and cross arms,” she said.

Behrle added that falling trees and limbs are the typical cause of power outages, with vegetation weighing down lines during storms. Once the ice melts, the debris moves, lifting the lines back into place.

“The snow from this storm didn’t put significant weight on the infrastructure, so we didn’t have any outages,” Behrle said.

Local residents are grateful for the power restoration and appreciate the hard work of crews who made it possible.

“We are always in a constant state of preparedness, constantly reviewing restoration plans,” Behrle noted.

As always, officials remind residents to stay clear of downed power lines.

Ameren also reported fewer than ten outages in Cape Girardeau following the storm.