8:30 p.m.
About 400 Southwestern Electric members are without power this evening after a strong storm pushed through Illinois, trailing sustained high winds in its wake. The winds are breaking branches and bringing down power lines, resulting in outages in three of the 11 counties served by Southwestern Electric.
At 8:30 p.m., about 350 members in Madison County were without power. Scattered outages were also reported in Effingham and Fayette counties. Crews have been deployed are on site at various locations, making repairs.
Members are cautioned to avoid all downed and low-hanging lines, as they may be energized or become energized at any time.