As of 10:45 a.m. Tuesday, about 2,000 Springfield City Utilities customers were still without power following a severe storm Sunday night with wind speeds at or above 60 miles per hour.
CU spokesperson Joel Alexander said reports of power outages began coming in around 11:30 p.m. By 1 a.m., about 15,500 CU customers were without power. By 8:30 p.m. Monday, about 6,600 customers still lacked electricity.
Alexander said Tuesday morning that crews were still working around-the-clock.
Alexander said he expects the majority of customers to have power again within 48 hours, but there are some who have damage to the weatherheads of their homes, the point were electric service lines enter the residence. If the weatherhead is damaged, customers must have it repaired by a private, licensed electrician before CU can reconnect electric service.
“I don’t think this storm was on anyone’s radar,” Alexander said. “We declared it a large-scale emergency this morning.
“That allows us the ability to call in additional crews to help assist,” he continued. “Additional contractors are on their way, some all the way from Colorado.”
In addition, CU is being assisted by contract crews from Arkansas and Iowa, as well as additional crews from Columbia, Kirkwood and Hannibal through a mutual-aid agreement with member utilities of the Missouri Public Utility Alliance, according to Alexander.
The storms impacted several communities throughout the Ozarks, Alexander said, leaving many waking up to no power Monday morning.
For more information or to report an outage, visit the City Utilities website.
Editor's Note: This story has been updated as more information has become available.
