Power restoration update
Update 35: Aug. 28, 2020 - 11:00 a.m
Alliant Energy thanks customers, community, supporters as company worked to restore power
CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA (Aug. 28, 2020) – Following the unprecedented derecho storm on August 10, power is now available to all Alliant Energy customers in Iowa. Throughout the restoration process, Alliant Energy received support from customers, communities and leaders from all levels – local, state and federal. The company also received assistance from crews across the country and Canada, suppliers, vendors and Travero.
“We truly appreciate the support and assistance we received during this entire restoration process,” said Terry Kouba, SVP at Alliant Energy and President of the Iowa Utility Company. “We appreciate our customers for being so patient and understanding. We know how difficult it is to not have power and are thankful to so many who provided assistance during our restoration efforts. This was a herculean effort where everyone truly showed care for others, one of our foundational values.”
Alliant Energy crews were joined by crews from across the country and Canada, along with the Iowa National Guard, to form a team of over 2,000 people during the restoration process. In addition, several hundred workers focused solely on tree trimming and brush removal.
“The outpouring of support from customers to our crews was simply amazing,” said Kouba. “During this challenging time, our customers were incredibly kind and gracious. The cold drinks, food, thank you cards, messages on social media and signs along the road truly helped our crews more than you can imagine.”
While all customers have power available, due to the extent of damage to their home or business, some customers are not able to have their power connected at this time. For customers in this situation, with damage to their exterior electrical system, including the meter box, service mast and weatherhead, an electrician must make repairs first. After repairs have been made, customers should contact Alliant Energy by filling out the online form or by calling 1-800-ALLIANT (800-255-4268).
“We have technicians and field service employees on stand-by, and, as soon as we’re notified repairs have been made, we’ll dispatch them to connect power,” added Kouba. “We are committed to serving our customers and restoring their power as quickly as possible.”
To help customers who cannot afford the repairs, Alliant Energy recently announced Project ReConnect. It is a new program that assists low-income customers who need help paying for these repairs. More information is available at alliantenergy.com/projectreconnect.
“We will continue to support the communities we serve, as they rebuild. As the lights get turned back on, we are committed to keeping them on and continuing to provide safe and reliable service that our customers and the communities we serve can count on,” added Kouba.
Alliant Energy will continue to share the latest updates on Facebook, Twitter and alliantenergy.com.
Update 34: Aug. 26, 2020 - 11:00 a.m
Following the devastating August 10 #StormDerecho, our energy grid was temporarily damaged leaving more than 256K Alliant Energy powered homes and businesses without electricity. We saw firsthand, the tremendous destruction of the storm on the communities we serve, with the property damage on our customers’ homes, businesses, schools and crops across central and eastern Iowa. We are proud of the diligent and safe work performed by our Alliant Energy employees to restore electricity; but our work is not done – our steadfast focus on helping our customers and communities continues.
To help Iowans with move forward with rebuilding their customer-owned properties, Alliant Energy is teaming up with local community partners to offer Project ReConnect. The project covers the cost for a licensed electrician to make repairs to customer-owned property, so that Alliant Energy can restore power to the home.
Thank you to all our customers and all the communities we serve for your partnership and kindness as we worked to quickly and safely make power available to everyone. Thank you to the thousands of contractors and Iowa National Guard members who were instrumental in our restoration efforts. We are #IowaStrong!
Update 33: Aug. 23, 2020 - 2:45 p.m
Update 32: Aug. 22, 2020 - 2:30 p.m.
Progress continues. More than 98% of customers have power available again, following the outages caused by #StormDerecho on Aug. 10. In Linn County, more than 96% of homes and businesses affected by the storm have power available and in Cedar Rapids, the number has increased to 94.7%. We continue to make progress and our crews continue to work, street-by-street, house-by-house. We are committed to getting power restored for all. Thank you for your ongoing patience and support.
#IowaStrong
Update 31: Aug. 21, 2020 - 2:15 p.m.
We continue to make progress restoring power to customers throughout the state. Currently, more than 96% of homes and businesses affected by #StormDerecho now have power available to them. In Linn County, nearly 91% have access to power and in Cedar Rapids, more than 87% once again have power. Our crews continue to work, street-by-street, house-by-house and remain committed to getting power restored for all. Thank you for your ongoing patience and support.
#IowaStrong
Update 30: Aug. 20, 2020 - 5:45 p.m.
Today, we made significant progress in Cedar Rapids and Linn County. Overall, more than 93% of customers impacted by #StormDerecho have service available to them. In Linn County, 84.7% of customers now have access to power and, in Cedar Rapids, 1,640 customers regained access to power – in just 8 hours – bringing the total to nearly 80%. Now that debris and trees have been removed and power is available to neighborhoods, we’re connecting homes and businesses – street-by-street. Wondering how all this works? It’s like a tree.
Thank you for your ongoing patience and support – we will not stop until our remaining 20,000 customers have power available.
#IowaStrong
Update 29: Aug. 20, 2020 - 10:30 a.m.
We continue to make progress connecting more homes and businesses – we will not stop until our remaining 20,000 customers have power available.
As you’re clearing debris from your yards, please do not stack it in areas cleared by the National Guard. They are clearing these spaces to allow our trucks a place to safely locate and connect service, home-by-home on every street. Placing debris in these locations prevents the trucks from getting to your street. We greatly appreciate your help with this matter and ongoing patience and support of our crews and the crews who have traveled to Iowa to help. #IowaStrong
Update 28: Aug. 19, 2020 - 7:30 p.m.
As nightfall sets in, and this ever-changing situation continues, we wanted to extend our appreciation to you – our customers. We greatly appreciate your patience, understanding and support of our crews and the crews who have traveled to Iowa to help.
Your continued encouragement and kind gestures make a huge difference! From offering cold drinks and food -- to volunteering to do their laundry, cheering them on when they arrive on your street, to your kind offers and well-wishes you continue to share on social media. It means the world to our crews who will humbly tell you they are just doing their job.
As we have done every day since the storm hit, our teams will start their work tomorrow morning and everyday until the job is done. #IowaStrong
Update 27: Aug. 19, 2020 - 3:00 p.m.
In Marion and Robins, about 90% of homes and businesses now have power available. As proud as we are to share that more homes and businesses have power available with every day, we know that many customers, especially in Linn County, are facing additional hardships. The Cedar Rapids Gazette showcased support that is available, from food, water and supplies to shelters. Details are just a click away.
Despite the magnitude of #StormDerecho, we are #IowaStrong. We will continue to work day and night until we fully restore power to all customers.
Update 26: Aug. 19, 2020 - 9:00 a.m.
Update 25: Aug. 18, 2020 - 10:00 p.m.
Update 24: Aug. 18, 2020 - 7:30 p.m.
Update 23: Aug. 18, 2020 - 3:15 p.m.
As of 2 p.m. today, we have made service available to nearly 84% of Iowa homes and businesses who lost power on Monday, Aug. 10. The derecho impacted over 240,000 customers across the state. That’s a 3% increase in eight hours.
Of the 340 communities originally impacted, 293 now have power available to the majority (90% or greater). And, Central City, Lisbon, Fairfax, Springville, Walker and Waubeek are nearly 100%. We will not rest until all customers have service.
Update 22: Aug. 18, 2020 - 9:30 a.m.
As of 6 a.m. central time today, Alliant Energy has made service available to more than 81% of homes and businesses who lost power on Monday, Aug. 10 following the derecho that impacted more than 240,000 customers. Of the 340 communities originally impacted, 291 have power available to the majority (90% or greater); 179 communities have been fully restored.
Our crews, joined by crews from around the country and Canada, continue making progress toward having power available to the majority by the end of the day today. They are replacing more than 3,000 power poles (work that would normally take about 10 months) in just over a week. We will not rest until all customers have service.
Update 21: Aug. 17, 2020 - 4:30 p.m.
Making Progress: Alliant Energy has restored power to more than 72% of customers affected by Derecho; on track to make power available to majority of affected customers
This afternoon, Terry Kouba, SVP at Alliant Energy and President of the Iowa Utility Company shared an update on restoration efforts.
“Our teams – and teams joining us from around the country – are working day and night to make power available to the majority of customers across the state by the end of the day on Tuesday, August 18. That means by midnight on Tuesday evening, at least 90% of our customers who were impacted by Monday's storm and high winds will have power available to them. And we are working quickly and safely to make that happen even faster. We will not rest until each and every customer has power available to them.”
Following the storm, more than 240,000 Alliant Energy customers in Iowa were originally without service. Alliant Energy is reporting, as of 2 p.m. today (Aug. 17), more than 72% of homes and businesses affected by storms on August 10, now have power available to them. Out of the 340 communities initially impacted by the storm – 266 communities now have power available to at least 90% of homes and businesses – and many of them are 100% restored.
“We have more than 2,000 workers, from all over the country, here helping us and we will get it fully restored,” Kouba said. “This storm brought damage beyond what we’ve ever seen. Iowans have always been strong when facing adversity, and we all will continue to power through together.”
To restore power, local Alliant Energy employees are working side-by-side with employees from other parts of Iowa and Wisconsin along with crews from across the country, ITC Midwest and the National Guard.
Alliant Energy is also partnering with utilities and suppliers from around the country to ensure that the crews on the ground have the replacement poles, miles of wire and other technical equipment required to get the job done. Parts and crews continue arriving. In fact, six truckloads of material arrived from Florida last evening (Aug. 16).
“I want to thank our customers, especially those whose home and businesses continue to be without power,” added Kouba. “I know being without power is extremely challenging and there’s nothing we want more than to get power back and available to you. We are working day and night to restore services.”
For customers without power, Alliant Energy is encouraging you to look at your meter box and the pole that comes out of it. If the pole/meter socket is damaged, an electrician will need to make repairs so that Alliant Energy can then re-connect your power.
Alliant Energy will continue to share updates as they become available on Facebook, Twitter and alliantenergy.com. Customers should call 1-800-ALLIANT if they are still experiencing issues receiving power.
Update 20: Aug. 17, 2020 - 9:00 a.m.
Nearly 70% of customers impacted by the Aug. 10 Derecho now have power available to them. More crews and mutual assistance is continuing to arrive to help with restoration efforts and debris/tree removal. The majority of customers in Albion, Atkins and Blairstown now have power available and we continue working toward full restoration.
Starting at noon today, we also have volunteers handing out sandwiches (in partnership with the Marion Food Pantry) at the Marion Square Plaza, 1105 7th Avenue. Sandwiches are free and open to the public, while supplies last.
Thank you for your continued support of our crews as they keep working to restore power to each of your homes and businesses. #Appreciate
Update 19: Aug. 16, 2020 - 4:30 p.m.
More homes and businesses continue to have power available to them. In Johnson County, about 95% of customers once again have electricity available. For the communities of Conrad, Walford and West Branch, nearly all customers have power available to them at this time. We expect the numbers to keep increasing throughout the evening hours as we continue striving toward our goal to have power available to the majority of customers by midnight on Tuesday.
Thank you for your ongoing patience as our crews, joined by crews from across the country, work day and night to safely restore power to all.
Update 18: Aug. 16, 2020 - 9:30 a.m.
Crews are continuing to make progress. More than 65% of customers now have power available to them, however, about 80,000 remain without power. Crews are doing all they can to quickly and safely restores services.
We expect to make significant progress again today and are committed to ensuring a significant number of customers have power available by the end of the day Tuesday, Aug. 18. View our outage map for updates and check out the Weather Channel, too. They are in Linn County today doing live updates and reporting on the storm.
At 5 p.m. yesterday
(Aug. 15), Alliant Energy and ITC Midwest provided a brief update on
restoration efforts in Cedar Rapids and across the state. Click to view the 19-minute KWWL recording of the conversation.
Update 17: Aug. 15, 2020 - 7:30 p.m.
Progress is ongoing. More people and crews arrive daily to help. Generous offers and kinds words continue to warm our hearts and keep our crews going. For those still without power, we know it’s incredibly challenging and we are doing all we can to safely re-connect power as quickly as possible. As of this evening, customers in Ely, Swisher, Walford and Shellsburg have electricity and we are making good progress in Alburnett, Palo and Newhall. Please continue to check our outage map for updates on restoration times. Rest assured, by the end of the day Tuesday, Aug. 18, a significant number of customers will have power available.
Update 16: Aug. 15, 2020 - 3:30 p.m.
Today, the National Guard jumped in to help with recovery efforts! More progress is being made every minute and, so far, power has been made available to more than 130,000 impacted customers, including a majority of customers in West Branch, North Liberty and Madrid. The outage map continues to be populated with the estimated times of restoration (the glitch has been repaired). We continue to do everything we can to safely make power available to a significant number of customers by the end of the day Tuesday, Aug. 18.
Update 15: Aug. 15, 2020 - 9:45 a.m.
We continue to make progress. About 127,000 customers in Iowa have power available to them again, including a majority of customers in Burlington, Centerville and Creston. More than 200 workers are focused on tree removal alone. The National Guard has arrived in Cedar Rapids and will be assisting to clear and remove trees. We currently have more than 2,000 workers replacing power lines and poles to fully restore services to all customers. By the end of the day Tuesday, Aug. 18, a significant number of customers will have access to power. We will continue working day and night to restore power to all customers as quickly and safely as possible.
Update 14: Aug. 14, 2020 - 7 p.m.
Our outage map is now populated with estimated times of restoration for communities still without power. By the end of the day Tuesday, Aug. 18, a significant number of customers will have access to power. We will continue working day and night to restore power to all customers as quickly and safely as possible. Thank you for your ongoing patience.
Update 13: Aug. 14, 2020 - 4 p.m.
We are continuing to restore power to more customers throughout Iowa. More than 120,000 now have power available to them, including the majority of customers in Ames, Perry, Tama and Walcott, along with customers in parts of many other communities. And we will continue working day and night to restore power to all customers as quickly and safely as possible. By the end of the day Tuesday, Aug. 18, a significant number of customers will have access to power.
Update 12: Aug. 14, 2020 - 1:30 p.m.
Power will be back before midnight or sooner Tuesday, announces Alliant Energy
CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA (Aug. 14, 2020) – Terry Kouba, SVP at Alliant Energy and President of the Iowa Utility Company announces:
“We have restored power to more than half of our customers who were impacted by Monday’s storms. We will have power available to a significant number of customers who are still without power by the end of the day Tuesday, Aug. 18, and we are working day and night to make it happen even sooner.”
The unprecedented storm struck central and eastern Iowa on Monday, Aug. 10; Alliant Energy is reporting that more than 700 crews (triple the normal ‘boots on the ground’) are now working on restoration – and more help is arriving every day to assist. To restore services, they will replace more than 2,500 poles across the state – the equivalent of 8 months of work the company normally completes – and they will complete it in just seven days.
Following the storm, more than 240,000 Alliant Energy customers were originally without service. Joined by crews from across the country, Alliant Energy employees continue to work as quickly and safely as possible to restore all services.
“We appreciate your patience during this very difficult outage,” added Kouba.
As updates become available, Alliant Energy will continue to share them on Facebook, Twitter and on AlliantEnergy.com.
Update 11: Aug. 14, 2020 - 8:00 a.m.
Power has been restored to more than half of our customers who were impacted by Monday’s storms. It’s great progress – and our crews will continue to work until every customer has the power back on! More crews are arriving every day to assist with restoration efforts. We’ll continue to post updates as they become available.
Update 10: Aug. 13, 2020 - 7:00 p.m.
The majority of customers in southern Iowa now have power available to them. This includes the counties in blue on the map below. Crews from Southern Iowa will now travel to other locations to assist with the continued restoration efforts in the state. Our crews continue working to safely and reliably restore all services; we'll continue to post updates as they are available.
Counties in blue: Marion, Mahaska, Keokuk, Adams, Union, Clarke, Lucas, Monroe, Wapello, Jefferson, Decatur, Appanoose, Davis, Van Buren
Update 9: Aug. 13, 2020 - 3:45 p.m.
We’ve restored power to more than 100,000 customers in Iowa and are working to restore power to all customers as quickly and safely as possible. We are close to having estimated times for restoration across the state and will announce them as they become available. At this time, we are estimating we’ll have power available to the majority of customers in the Cedar Rapids area within 5-7 days.
Update 8: Aug. 13, 2020 - 10:30 a.m.
Alliant Energy and ITC Midwest joint statement regarding Iowa restoration efforts
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (Aug.13, 2020) – Responding to an unprecedented storm in an unprecedented year, Alliant Energy and ITC Midwest are working, as quickly and safely as possible, to restore electric services throughout Iowa.
The utilities have confronted the devastating damage with a similarly unprecedented restoration effort. The companies achieved a key milestone Tuesday night when the lights came back on in downtown Cedar Rapids. ITC Midwest was able to return to service a critical line that feeds Alliant Energy’s Downtown Industrial substation, allowing Alliant Energy to restore electric services to the city’s hospitals, police and fire stations, municipal government offices, businesses and residences in the city’s core. The close coordination between ITC Midwest and Alliant Energy is key to continued progress in restoring electric service throughout the city, county and affected region.
ITC Midwest has estimated that nearly 350 miles of lines in Linn County alone were impacted by Monday’s derecho. Across its entire service area, the company estimated more than 1,200 miles of lines were impacted in some way, from mild damage to miles of transmission structures broken and lying on the ground. To respond, ITC Midwest has mobilized more than 500 field utility workers to repair and rebuild the transmission system. The company is working closely with Alliant Energy and other distribution utilities to prioritize the needed transmission lines and substations to be re-energized. Substations step down high voltage electricity from the transmission system to a lower voltage so power can be supplied to homes and businesses through local distribution lines.
At the same time, Alliant Energy, joined by employees from across Iowa and Wisconsin and crews from throughout the country, is repairing and replacing its power lines and poles, substations and other equipment. As both companies work in tandem on repairs, services will continue to be steadily restored for Iowa customers.
As of 9 a.m. CDT today, power has been restored for more than 100,000 Alliant Energy customers, following the widespread outages caused by the major storms on Monday afternoon. For a complete update, click to view Alliant Energy’s recent statement.
“The entire restoration team, including our crews from Iowa and Wisconsin, crews from other utilities and ITC Midwest, is making progress to restore services to all customers,” stated Terry Kouba, SVP at Alliant Energy and President of the Iowa Utility Company. “The crews are working as quickly and as safely as possible in order to fully restore all services.”
“This was by far the most extensive storm damage we have seen since ITC Midwest began operating the transmission system at the end of 2007,” said Dusky Terry, president of ITC Midwest. “The storm was the equivalent of a 40-mile wide tornado that rolled over 100 miles of the state. To address the damage, we have deployed significant resources and equipment to return the transmission system to service. We’ll continue partnering with Alliant Energy and other local utilities to bring power back to Iowans.”
Alliant Energy and ITC Midwest appreciate your patience as crews continue to work to restore services to all customers. Please visit Alliant Energy’s outage map, Facebook page and Twitter feed for updates. Please visit ITC's Facebook page for updates.
Update 7: Aug. 12, 2020 - 6:30 p.m.
Power has now been restored for about 90,000 customers including to most residents and businesses in Eldora, Centerpoint and Tiffin, along with customers in parts in many other communities. We appreciate your continued patience as our crews work to restore services to all customers quickly and safely. Please visit our outage map for additional updates.
Update 6: Aug. 12, 2020 - 1:30 p.m.
Power has now been restored for nearly 75,000 Alliant Energy customers including to most customers living in Williamsburg, Marengo and Jefferson. In addition, power has been restored to many other communities.
At this time, we’d like to give a shout out to ITC Midwest. With the first transmission lines connected into Cedar Rapids by ITC, Alliant Energy was able to energize downtown Cedar Rapids. This is one of the many transmission lines that ITC owns that connects into Cedar Rapids. We are working closely with them – a critical step for getting power back on.
We appreciate your patience as our crews continue to work to restore services to all customers. Please visit our outage map for updates.
Update 5: Aug. 12, 2020 - 7:30 a.m.
Alliant Energy is reporting the lights are back on in downtown Cedar Rapids.
“This is great news for many of our customers,” stated Terry Kouba, SVP at Alliant Energy and President of the Iowa Utility Company. “At the same time, we still have a long road ahead to fully restore all services in Cedar Rapids and throughout the state.”
Late yesterday (Aug. 11), Alliant Energy reported power was restored to nearly 70,000 customers. Monday’s storm and high winds created widespread outages across Alliant Energy’s service area in central and eastern Iowa.
As updates become available, Alliant Energy will continue to share them on Facebook, Twitter and on AlliantEnergy.com.
Update 4: Aug. 11, 2020 - 9:30 p.m.
Power has been restored for nearly 70,000 Alliant Energy customers, following the widespread outages caused by major storms yesterday afternoon. So far, the majority of customers in Iowa Falls, Washington, Clear Lake, Monticello and many other communities have had power restored.
Our crews, joined by crews from across the country, continue to work as quickly and safely as possible to restore all services throughout the state. We appreciate your patience during this very difficult outage and will be updating our outage map, with estimated times of restoration, as they become available.
Update 3: Aug. 11, 2020 - 12:20 p.m.
CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA (Aug. 11, 2020) – Following the high winds and storms that ravaged much of central and eastern Iowa yesterday, Alliant Energy reports more than 200,000 customers remain without service. Technicians have been dispatched and continue 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,” stated Terry Kouba, SVP at Alliant Energy and President of the Iowa Utility Company. “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 today to survey the damage. He said, "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 recovery.
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.
Currently, customers do not need to report outages. However, to report an emergency, to report damaged equipment or if you see downed lines, complete the online form at AlliantEnergy.com or call 800-255-4268. Please do not touch or go near downed lines, they may 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.
This is a rapidly changing and dynamic situation. As updates become available, Alliant Energy will share them on Facebook, Twitter and on AlliantEnergy.com.
Update 2: Aug. 10, 2020 - 5:05 p.m.
Attention customers in central and eastern Iowa: Following the damage caused earlier today by severe weather and high winds, our technicians are beginning to assess the volume of debris and damage. They will begin restoring services as soon as they can safely do so. We do not yet have an estimated time for restoration. At this time, we request you only contact us to report downed power lines.
Update 1: Aug. 10, 2020 - 12:30 p.m.
Severe weather moving through Iowa is causing significant damage and power outages, especially in the Ames, Marshalltown and Cedar Rapids areas. Power lines are down and, before restoration can begin, there will be many trees to clear. As soon as it’s safe to do so, Alliant Energy crews will begin working to assess the situation and working to restore services. As of right now, we are unable to say when full power will be restored.
Customers are reminded to stay away from downed power lines and be cautious when clearing tree limbs and brush near electrical equipment.
As updates become available, Alliant Energy will share them on Facebook, Twitter and on the company’s outage page.