Ameren restores power for nearly 3K customers in Cahokia Heights
Ameren Illinois has restored service for most all of the nearly 3,000 customers who lost power Friday afternoon in Cahokia Heights.
“We had a piece of equipment malfunction on a power line right outside of a neighborhood substation,” spokesman Brian Bretsch said a statement.
The outage began at 12:25 p.m. and ended at 3:30 p.m., Bretsch said.
The National Weather Service reported it was 95 at about 3 p.m. in Cahokia Heights with a heat index of 106. The agency has issued a heat advisory for the region until 8 p.m. Monday.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration offers the following tips about how to handle food in the fridge or freezer during a power outage:
- “Keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to maintain the cold temperature.
- The refrigerator will keep food cold for about 4 hours if it is unopened.
- A full freezer will keep the temperature for approximately 48 hours (24 hours if it is half full) if the door remains closed.
- Buy dry or block ice to keep the refrigerator as cold as possible if the power is going to be out for a prolonged period of time. Fifty pounds of dry ice should keep an 18 cubic foot, fully stocked freezer cold for two days.”
This story was originally published August 15, 2025 at 3:01 PM.