DECATUR, Ill. (WCIA) – Ameren on Thursday unveiled one of its new mobile command centers in Decatur. Officials say this will help strengthen storm recovery for customers across the country.
“It looks like a trailer from the outside, right? It doesn’t look very sophisticated,” said Decatur Deputy City Manager John Kinseth. “But when you look at all the technology that’s built into it, it’s pretty impressive.”
And all that technology helps with power outages.
“We currently have two of these deployed within the Ameren military’s jurisdiction. We have one station in Belleville and one in St. Louis,” said Kyle Maxwell, Ameren Power Operations Supervisor. says Mr.
The trailer will remain there permanently, but crews will be able to drive it anywhere, including in central Illinois, if a problem arises. Portability helps reduce response time.
“What we’ve done before is we might have to deploy what’s called a ‘ground boot’ where you go out with binoculars and try to find the problem,” Maxwell said. Ta.
Drone technology allows us to solve problems more efficiently.
“What this trailer gives us is that you can see it in real time on this screen,” Maxwell said. “Drone pilots are strictly just flying, so we can send some staff, engineers and supervisors out here to look for things.”
He said a mobile command center could take on all elements.
“It could be a tornado, it could be straight line winds, it could be something of that nature. Even an ice storm.”
Trailer prices range from $325,000 to $350,000. Officials said it can also be used to find and repair gas leaks.
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