UPDATE 4-Utilities restore power in US Midwest/Gulf;outages fall

Dec 20 (Reuters) - Utility crews were able to restore power to more than 200,000 homes and businesses that lost power on Thursday from the first major winter storm to hit the U.S. Midwest and Gulf Coast, power companies said. Outages fell to about 133,000 customers in the hardest-hit states on Thursday afternoon, down from nearly 400,000 customers earlier in the day. Utilities in Iowa, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kansas and Missouri were restoring power Thursday afternoon while the storms continued to batter parts of Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. The storm also caused tornadoes in the Mobile, Alabama area, according to weather forecaster AccuWeather.com. The following is a list of some of the regions affected by the storms.

Power Company Holding Company State Out Now Out at

Peak

MidAmerican Berkshire Hathaway IA 35,411 43,300 Omaha Public Power District OPPD NE 24,686 40,200 AEP - SWEPCO AEP AR, LA, TX 23,000 57,400 Entergy - Arkansas Entergy AR 30,466 37,100 Oncor Energy Future TX 20,053 39,700

Holdings

Total Out 133,616 390,900