(Radio Iowa) – More than a quarter million Iowans are still without power, three days after a major wind storm blasted across the state. Alliant Energy spokeswoman Cindy Tomlinson says the situation remains too complex for an accurate estimate of a restoration time. “We don’t want to over-promise and then under-deliver,” Tomlinson says. “We want to make sure when we provide an estimated time that we can meet that window. It’s just going to take a little more time to estimate when services will be restored.”

Reports show 257-thousand Iowa homes remain without electricity, though at the peak after the Monday severe weather, nearly 500-thousand customers were in the dark. Tomlinson says when Alliant’s senior vice president Terry Kouba toured the damage in Marshalltown and Cedar Rapids, he was amazed. “The storm has created damage beyond what we’ve ever seen before and he’s been with our company several decades,” she says. “It’s definitely an experience beyond what he’s ever seen before.”

Tomlinson reminds folks who are using generators to be sure and shut down the main disconnect to the house. If that is still on, it could result in electricity feeding back down the line and could potentially injure a utility worker who’s trying to get your power back on. Tomlinson reminds everyone to continue to avoid downed power lines, because you never know if maybe a generator may be feeding back into those lines, or when the power DOES come back on.