The planned rotating power cuts have not yet occurred.

Belco yesterday said they would only take place once demand for electricity got too close to capacity.

The rolling outages were proposed following last Thursday?s catastrophic fire which plunged the Island into darkness.

?Regrettably we cannot know in advance when this might occur, or exactly which circuits they will need to choose,? Belco said.

Belco?s best guess at when the outages could occur is the peak load times when people are getting ready for work in the morning and tends to continue at about the same level well into the evening, as appliances are turned on.

?If Belco needs to resort to rotating outages, they will affect circuits in primarily residential areas between the hours of approximately 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. though this could continue later into the evening, depending upon demand,? Belco said.

The areas most likely to be affected by rotating outages, in no particular order are:

lTulo Valley to Cox?s Hill and west; Cheriton Lane and west Spanish Point.

lHarrington Sound area ? Shark Hole and east to Harrington Sound Road; Mullet Bay area ? Wellington; Fractious ? Claytown, Walsingham; Flatts ? Harrington Sound Road east; Shelly Bay ? North Shore; Flatts Hill, Middle Road.

lParsons Lane and west, Christ Church Lane, Middle Road east; Store Hill, Sousa?s Estate, St. Brendan?s Road; Prospect area - Montpelier Road, National Stadium, Frog Lane, CedarBridge.

lLighthouse, St. Anne?s Road Boaz Island; Watford Bridge, Evans Bay - Port Royal, Granaway Heights; Black Bay, Middle Road south; Naval Annex - Somerset Bridge, White Hill, George?s Bay Road.

l Belmont Hotel site; Middle Road - Forest Hill.

?Each outage is expected to last for approximately 4 hours,? Belco said. ?We do not expect any customer to be affected by more than one outage per day.?

Belco said rotating outages will not affect circuits that feed Hamilton, St. George, Dockyard, the Hospital, Police Station, Fire Service or other essential services. ?We do not expect rotating outages to affect hotels or large guest houses,? Belco said. ?Every effort is being made to avoid affecting businesses across the Island, particularly during hours that might be critical to them.?

Belco?s system remains fragile they said and businesses and residents are urged to conserve energy, particularly in the morning before work, during the business day and in the hours right after work.

Belco encouraged people at home to do laundry or other activities that require greater use of electricity before 6 a.m. or after 6 p.m. People were also urged not to report outages to Belco unless they appeared to be the only customers without electricity in the area. In an emergency call 955, they said.

?Belco appreciates the community?s patience and co-operation.?