5 p.m.

Southwestern Electric crews continue to make progress replacing poles and repairing downed lines and broken crossarms across Southwestern Electric's service area.

As of 5 p.m., crews had restored power to all but roughly 80 Southwestern Electric members after ice and strong winds produced galloping lines throughout the region Thursday. All of the members still without power late Thursday were served by the co-op's Reno Substation in Bond County. Crews are currently working to reroute power along different lines less susceptible to galloping.

Earlier in the afternoon, Southwestern Electric crews restored power to members near St. Jacob, Hookdale and in Fayette County, where high winds were shearing bolts from poles and breaking crossarms. In Effingham County, crews repaired broken crossarms south of Altamont. Linemen also repaired damaged infrastructure in Madison County, near Route 4, earlier today.

Shortly after daybreak, Southwestern CEO Bobby Williams surveyed areas which have experienced multiple outages since the storm struck. He said the areas share common characteristics, including long spans of line that run east-west across open or elevated tracts, where the co-op’s distribution system is exposed to the storm’s persistent, strong winds. Williams said the co-op’s operations and engineering teams are taking measures to mitigate outages in those areas, including rerouting power along different circuits. He also noted that in some cases, the cooperative’s options for redirecting power are limited, and crews will continue to respond to outages and make repairs as quickly as possible.

Members who see downed or sagging power lines should stay clear of the area and contact Southwestern Electric Cooperative at (800) 637-8667. In addition, people clearing debris should look for sagging or fallen wires before they begin working.