BELLEVILLE, Ill. — Utility provider Ameren is adding a tool to its storm response. The Mobile Command Center is so new, that it hasn't even seen bad weather yet.
"We have not actually deployed it on a storm because we have not had one," said Ameren Illinois Superintendent Electric Operations, Kyle Maxwell.
Even though seeing the Mobile Command Center means a strong storm has blown through, the utilities in the trailer will help linemen restore power.
"It's going to increase our restoration times," Maxwell says, "it's going to make us faster."
One of the key components of the Mobile Command Center is the large monitors to view live drone footage. Maxwell says crews will watch the video live looking for broken insulators, cracked cross-arms, blown arrestors, or anything that could cause a power outage. He says if drones are not available, linemen have to inspect pole-by-pole with a bucket truck.
The Mobile Command Center even speeds up the drone inspection process. Maxwell said crews would record video inspections with drones, then take the footage to an office where it would be reviewed on a large monitor. The Mobile Command Center allows crews to watch drone footage in real-time.
Inside the trailer are two desks with multiple monitors. Maxwell says work will get done faster with a dedicated workspace and high-speed internet. The trailer is a tool Maxwell wishes they had years ago.
"I'll go way back like the 2006 Decatur ice storm; we had folks in their trucks, it was cold out, they're trying to work off just a laptop, if they had this back then it would have been a big benefit."