The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) honored Ameren Corp. as a winner of the association’s Emergency Recovery Award for outstanding efforts to restore electric power in the wake of two severe ice storms during the space of six weeks in late 2006 and early 2007.

EEI’s Emergency Recovery Award is presented annually to recognize outstanding efforts in restoring electric service that has been disrupted by severe weather conditions or other natural events. Winners are chosen by a panel of judges following an international nomination process, and the awards were presented during EEI’s winter CEO meetings.

The two winter storms, of a severity rarely seen in Ameren companies’ affected service region, together caused outages to more than 1.1 million customers in and around the company’s Missouri and -Illinois territories.

Extreme and dangerous icy conditions during both storms made work especially challenging for the electricians working to restore power to Ameren’s customers. The company deployed more than 4,000 electrical workers, 1,400 tree and vegetation workers, and hundreds of other employees during each storm.

“Ameren’s outstanding response in the face of two -history-making ice storms offers a terrific example of a company using all of its resources in order to restore electricity service even in highly unusual and unfavorable circumstances,” said Thomas R. Kuhn, EEI president. “The company’s preparedness for both storms and its strategic yet aggressive approach in highly unfavorable conditions are a testament to our industry’s dedication to getting the lights back on as soon as possible after devastating storms.”

Some of you may have helped Ameren companies through these storms, so this award should come as congratulations for a job well done.

To look back on these storms, see ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR’s coverage from the January 2007 and November 2006 issues available at www.ECmag.com.