Builders were altering a sidewalk when they struck a power cable at 11.11 a.m.

Belco had restored power by 3.10 p.m.

The Bermuda Land Development Corporation (BLDC), who employed the contractors, said the outage only affected its administration building and, possibly, Carter House.

BLDC facility manager Rudy Daniels said: "They went a little deep and struck a line. We were without power for a couple of hours.'' He denied procedures needed to be toughened up to avoid further power cuts.

Mr. Daniels said: "Builders sweep the area with an electronic instrument so we know where the lines are but sometimes the guys might stray two or three inches in one direction. That is what happened.'' He said the firm responsible for yesterday's blunder was different from the one whose workers cut the protective coating around an electrical cable on Tuesday. That accident allowed water to seep in to the cable and cause a short which blacked out power to buildings between Clearwater Middle School and TeleBermuda International.