12:15 p.m.
Southwestern Electric crews continue to restore power today after thousands of Southern Illinois residents lost service this morning when a severe storm swept across the state, snapping trees, breaking poles and bringing down power lines.
At noon, Southwestern crews had restored power to 1,800 members. About 6,700 Southwestern Electric members remained without power, down from 8,500 earlier today.
Linemen are on site and making repairs in Madison, Bond, Fayette and Effingham counties, and crews are repairing transmission lines that provide power to several Southwestern substations.
At present, 3,350 Madison County members are without power, 1,960 Fayette County members are without service, and 770 members in Effingham County are without power. The remaining outages are scattered across Southwestern’s service area.
Members are cautioned to avoid all downed and low-hanging power lines. The lines may be energized, or become energized without warning.