Ameren Illinois storm outages leave 23,000 customers without power in Bloomington-Normal area

• Ameren Illinois reported severe storms with winds up to 70 mph, driving outages that peaked near 26,000 customers.
• About 23,000 customers remained without power at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, concentrated in the Bloomington-Normal area.
• Downed subtransmission poles, distribution poles, and transmission structures were reported across the Bloomington-Normal region, complicating restoration work.
• Power was restored to Illinois State University by 6 p.m. on move-in day, easing a key operational disruption.
• Peoria and Champaign-Danville were expected to be restored tonight; restoration times for Bloomington-Normal were still being determined.

Disclaimer: This news brief was created by Public Technologies (PUBT) using generative artificial intelligence. While PUBT strives to provide accurate and timely information, this AI-generated content is for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as financial, investment, or legal advice. Ameren Illinois Co. published the original content used to generate this news brief on August 13, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained therein.