Another day without power — that could be the case for thousands of residents today.

Some 1,500 lost their electricity after Tropical Storm Fay swept across the Island, and many more after Hurricane Gonzalo.

However, the arrival of additional CARILEC linemen from the Caribbean to join the power restoration efforts is expected to have a positive impact on the ‘Fay 1500’.

“Belco is in a position to dedicate several restoration crews specifically to customers who have been without power since TS Fay,” said a Belco spokeswoman this evening.

“We will also dedicate some crews to addressing the commercial customers that have not yet had power restored. We will, of course, continue to work on jobs that affect larger groups of customers, and we will continue to have some crews dedicated to emergency repairs and quick fixes.”

Despite the valiant efforts of Belco crews, they continue to fight an uphill battle.

Yesterday, 3,281 customers were without power and by this morning that figure had swelled to 3,976.

Adding to Belco’s problems this afternoon were two pole fires — one in Flatts and the other in Spanish Point.

According to a Belco spokeswoman, both were caused by the heavy rain.

“This is an expected occurrence after two hurricanes that have produced widespread damage to our system, as equipment is covered with salt and debris,” she explained.

“As a result of the fires, two circuits were taken out last night that had previously been restored. Crews are working to reinstate these circuits. We also have one additional main circuit still out.

“The remaining outages are primarily small jobs and they are widespread across the entire Island.

“Today, crews are catching up with yesterday’s work which was slowed by an accident on Dock Hill that saw a truck take out one of our poles and associated equipment. Work to restore this area diverted resources from other jobs. Crews are also tackling new work, all of which was outlined in this morning’s list (see below).

“The rainy weather today should not have a material impact on crews’ ability to work. They have appropriate equipment and are accustomed to working in inclement weather.”

Belco is being helped by 14 linemen from CARILEC-member utilities from Bahamas, Barbados, Belize.

Tonight, an additional five will arrive from Cayman Islands. They are all tackling small jobs, added the spokeswoman.

“There is a team coordinating efforts to replace the 170 poles that we currently have reported as down. This team includes not just Belco staff, but also representatives from Bermuda Telephone Company and Bermuda CableVision, which also occupy the poles. The team’s efforts include meeting daily to ensure that all equipment is transferred efficiently to new poles.

“Back at Belco headquarters, teams of people are looking at priority issues, such as businesses that are still without power, customers with urgent medical needs, and those who have been without power since TS Fay.

“If you are trying to call Belco, and finding that your call is looped back to the starting menu, please leave us a message. We have people picking up the messages, so we will get your information, and it will be entered into our Outage Management System.

“Also, please do not call multiple times to report your concern. While we appreciate your frustration, multiple calls about the same matter really slow down processes. Thanks for understanding.”

Broken down by parish, the number of homes without power are as follows:

Pembroke 650

Paget 351

Devonshire 619

Warwick 685

Southampton 396

Sandys 92

Smiths 495

Hamilton 297

St George’s 391

Areas affected are:

Ferry Reach

Cottage Hill

Zuills Park

Ramgoat Hill

Smaller jobs in St George’s:

Winton Hill

Heron Bay MarketPlace

Valley View Crescent

John Smith’s Bay

Jennings Land

Hillside

Tankfield

Seabright Lane

Mill Reach Lane

Shelton Road

Crestwood Crescent

Bluck’s Point

Ingham’s Vale

Vaucrosson Crescent

St. John’s Hill

Clarence Dale Drive

Mermaid area

Harbour Road

Tribe Road #3 Southampton

Coral Acres

Witchery Lane

Belco will update the figures for each parish tomorrow morning.

“Please note, some of the jobs assigned for Thursday will still be on the Friday list, and some jobs that appeared on the list earlier in the week are ongoing. There is considerable work to be done and crews are seeing work through to completion,” the spokeswoman said.