Alliant Energy says restoring electric power could take days

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA — More than 200,000 Alliant Energy customers remain without electricity Tuesday after high winds and storms ravaged much of central and eastern Iowa Monday, the utility company reports.

In a statement released Tuesday afternoon, Alliant said technicians have been dispatched and are assessing damage, beginning to clear trees and debris and creating restoration plans.

“The storm created damage beyond what we’ve seen before and it could take several days before the majority of services are restored,” said Terry Kouba, senior vice president at Alliant Energy and president of the Iowa Utility Co. “For some customers, especially those living in more rural areas, it could be longer. We’re asking for patience as our crews work around the clock. Their safety and the safety of our customers is our top priority.”

Kouba visited Marshalltown and Cedar Rapids Tuesday to survey the damage, noting that the “storm damaged some of our facilities and buildings. There are trees down on our lines and blocking many roads. Clearing the path, replacing poles and lines and restoring services – it’s going to take time to get our customers re-connected.”

Much like the support Alliant Energy provided in areas hard-hit by past hurricanes, mutual assistance is being provided by utility and tree crews from around the country to help speed the recovery.

Alliant said power will first be restored to essential services and facilities critical to public health and safety, such as hospitals, nursing homes, fire and police departments and water systems. Then crews will be dispatched to repair lines that will return service to the largest number of customers in the least amount of time. Service to neighborhoods, industries and businesses are restored systematically.

Customers do not currently need to report outages, the Alliant statement said, but to report an emergency, to report damaged equipment or if you see downed lines, complete the online form at AlliantEnergy.com, download the MyAccount app from the app store or call Alliant at 800-255-4268.

Please do not touch or go near downed lines. They might be live and could cause serious injury.

Customers with a downed electrical connection on their house will need to contract with an electrician to have the equipment fixed. The pole to the meter on customer homes is considered customer-owned. It can and should be fixed as you await power restoration as Alliant Energy cannot reconnect power to any damaged equipment due to safety concerns.