About 250 homes near Dockyard went without power for more than an hour yesterday.

Bermuda Electric Light Company spokeswoman Linda Smith said it was suspected the blackout was caused by a fault in the underwater cable that runs from Spanish Point to Dockyard.

"When there is a fault in the cable it shuts down automatically," she said. "It is a safety mechanism."

The cable shut off at 11.23 a.m. yesterday and it took Belco an hour and 23 minutes to get power to customers from an alternative route.

She said the underwater cable was not operational yesterday because Belco was still looking for the precise location of the fault.

"We have back-fed Dockyard from Boaz Island," Ms Smith said. "But it is on now and we don't expect there to be any other problems."