"Nineteen days -- long days," he said.

That's how long he didn't have electricity during the ice storm in January 2007. Once again, when the ice hit on Monday, he was left sitting in the lamplight.

He was one of some 5,000 customers of City Utilities of Springfield who had no power on Monday night. During the early part of the day, that number was a lot lower, about 1,200 outages. Once people started getting home from work, they realized they too didn't have electricity.

"Between the hours of 5:00 and 7:00, we saw an increased amount of calls coming in to our call system," said Joel Alexander, a spokesman for CU.

Alexander says the outages are spread throughout Springfield and the subdivisions around the city that CU serves. About 30 crews are working to restore power. That includes utility contractors from Joplin, Kansas City and Clinton.

"We're working right now. We're going to be working throughout the night and until this ice storm is over," he said.

Alexander said his main concern on Monday night was wind. If the wind picks up, there could be even more outages.

Rulo is keeping his fingers crossed this storm won't be a repeat of the one last year. This time he has three baby puppies to worry about. While he is concerned for their safety, he's confident after the ordeal in 2007 that he and his family will make itr through this one too.

"I've got an extra blanket on my bed and the kids got a couple extra sleeping bags. So we'll make it, one way or the other," he said.

CU wants to pass along this information. If you are calling to report a power outage, leave your information on the automated system. If you try to wait for an actual person, it creates a logjam and that can take a lot longer to get the whole issue resolved.

We should point out that 911 is not the number to call about power outages. Some people have been calling 911 to report power outages. Call 911 only if a power outage has created a life-threatening situation, such as a live wire on the road.
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Alexander said people should avoid downed utility lines and treat them as if they could shock them. To report power outages, customers can call CU at (417) 863-9000. CU says it helps if customers will use the automated system to report the outages rather than trying to get through to a live call-taker.

Empire District Electric customers should call 1-800-206-2300 to report outages. Empire has about 164,000 customers in Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas and Oklahoma.

Ozark Electric customers should call (417) 466-2144 or 1-800-947-6393. Dispatchers are on duty around the clock. Ozark Electric serves about 30,000 homes and businesses.

The Greater Ozarks Chapter of the American Red Cross opened a shelter at The Salvation Army headquarters on the northwest corner of Chestnut Expressway at Kansas Expressway.

People who need a warm place to stay should take their own bedding, clothing, personal hygiene items and necessary medical supplies. Cots are provided. Pets are not allowed.

The Greene County Office of Emergency Management is ready to open more shelters if the need arises. Since the ice storm of January 2007, it's trained and prepared several churches to be ready to operate shelters. The office's Disaster Hotline is (417) 829-6100, and call-takers can answer questions about shelters.