Up to 14,000 customers from all over the Island were left without power yesterday after a short circuit at Belco.

The short circuit occurred inside the cable box of an earthing transformer at approximately 2.20 p.m. and caused four engines to shut down.

A Belco Spokesperson said power was gradually restored as the engines were brought back on line, and by 3.45 p.m. all power was restored.

They are investigating the cause of the fault.

An earlier power outage at 9.30 a.m. left approximately 2,500 east end residents without power after two underground cables were accidentally cut.

Belco was carrying out trenching work along Fractious Street in Hamilton Parish to upgrade their underground system, and an error on their part caused their contractor to cut the cables during trenching.

Power was fully restored 45 minutes after it went out when power was back fed from other substations and the cables are now being repaired.