Major winter storm leaves more than 23,000 without power in in Iowa –
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – December 20, 2012 – Crews from Interstate Power and Light Company (IPL), an Alliant Energy company, have been deployed across Iowa in response to Thursday’s major winter storm. Heavy, wet snow and high winds, with gusts exceeding 60-miles-per-hour, passed the through most of Iowa.
Crews have quickly worked to restore power to customers and will continue work this evening to restore power to as many customers as possible. However, it is likely in many areas where the worst damage occurred that customers will be without power for several hours, and some customers may be without power until tomorrow.
We have additional crews that have either been dispatched or put on standby to assist tomorrow, however, weather and road closures are keeping them from making it to the work area tonight.
“Our biggest obstacle in restoring power after this storm is the road conditions. Our trucks are heavy-duty, four-wheel-drive, and even have chains. But even that is no match for some of the blizzard conditions we’re finding outside city limits,” said Vern Gebhart, Vice President – Energy Delivery. “As plows are able to open roads enough for our trucks, we will restore power in the area. We are committed to restoring all of our customers as quickly and safely as we can.”
The continuing high winds, additional icing and falling trees and tree limbs continue to extend storm restoration efforts. In some cases, shortly after crews restored power, the high winds knocked the power out again just a little bit later.
As of 5:30 pm, the homes and businesses of approximately 11,000 Alliant Energy customers in Iowa remained without electric service. Those customers experiencing an outage are encouraged to call 1-800-ALLIANT (800-255-4268) to report it. It is likely that some customers will be without power through the night in the hardest hit areas, or areas where access is limited or currently impossible.
