Energy generation and customers' energy usage (sometimes referred to as load) must always match up and remain balanced, otherwise the grid’s integrity will be compromised. There are strict standards energy companies such as Ameren must follow to maintain this balance. Controlled outages are a last resort to prevent more extensive and prolonged power outages that could severely affect the reliability of the grid.

Controlled outages may be caused by a shortage of electricity supply or to help prevent power lines from becoming overloaded. Several factors can lead to the temporary situation, including extreme weather (unusually hot or cold temperatures), sharply increased electric demand, unplanned energy center outages, transmission constraints, unexpected damage to equipment, unavailability of purchased power or a combination of these situations.

Not necessarily. MISO will provide direction based on the situation. Should an emergency arise where controlled outages are necessary, we anticipate they will last about two hours and rotate through the service territory. We do our best to avoid outages to essential public health and safety service facilities such as hospitals and water systems.

Should a controlled outage situation arise, we intend to be as equitable as possible. Plans call for rotating outages until the emergency passes. Should an event occur, not every customer will be affected by a controlled outage. Some customers may be further down on the list and the emergency may be over sooner than anticipated, allowing the grid to return to normal operating conditions.

During extreme weather or should an emergency arise, we will do our best to communicate in advance of controlled outages. Unfortunately, there may not always be advance notice before the controlled outage occurs. Controlled outages are a last resort as directed by the grid operator, MISO, and require immediate action.

Customers are encouraged to sign up for outage alerts which offer information about outages related to your account, including restoration time and the cause of the outage.

Ameren is a longtime member of the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, one of the nation's largest regional transmission organizations. MISO is an independent, not-for-profit, member-based organization focused on managing the flow of high-voltage electricity across 15 U.S. states and the Canadian province of Manitoba.

Being a part of MISO allows Ameren to better coordinate and optimize generation and transmission for the benefit of our customers.

Ameren does work with large usage customers ahead of time and has emergency agreements in place allowing us to request a reduction in the amount of energy they are consuming to a pre-determined amount. Residential and small business customers have a variety of voluntary options to earn incentives, including bill credits, by reducing their energy use when the grid needs it most. Ameren Illinois customers can sign up for the Peak Time Rewards program. For Ameren Missouri customers, the program is called Peak Time Savings.

When MISO orders a public appeal for conservation, we will ask customers to minimize energy usage as much as possible until the system strain has passed. We may ask for your help in conserving energy prior to MISO’s appeal, given the conditions. You can help by:

• Increasing or decreasing your thermostat, depending on the weather.
• Unplugging electronic devices and turning off lights that are not in use.
• Holding off on doing chores such as delaying laundry, washing dishes and other non-essential uses of electricity until off-peak hours, between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Here are some other energy saving tips that customers can take around the house, at any time of year, to save money on energy statements.

Residential and small business customers have a variety of voluntary options to earn incentives, including bill credits, by reducing their energy use when the grid needs it most. Ameren Illinois customers can sign up for the Peak Time Rewards program. For Ameren Missouri customers, the program is called Peak Time Savings.