Reports that fire detection equipment was late in responding to the catastrophic fire that plunged the Island into darkness last Thursday are under investigation, Belco said.

Bermuda Electric Light Company spokeswoman Linda Smith said the presence of fire suppression and detection equipment in the switch gear room that exploded was currently being investigated by a UK forensic expert.

?It will all be a part of the investigation,? Mrs. Smith said. ?It is in the investigators? hands now.?

In the meantime, planned rotating power cuts have not yet been necessary, she said. Belco said the cuts would only take place once demand for electricity got too close to capacity.

The amount of electricity Belco has produced since Wednesday morning has not changed.

At 10 a.m. on Wednesday demand for electricity was 100.6 Megawatts, but demand grew to 104 Megawatts by 1 p.m.

The amount of demand remained at 104 Megawatts at 11 a.m. yesterday, Belco said.

The load required to power the City of Hamilton on Wednesday morning was 30.5 Megawatts, which consumed 27 percent of the entire Belco load.

?Thanks to your help we?ve had no rotating outages so far,? it said in a statement. But Belco appealed to businesses and residences to continue to conserve electricity and rotate the times they use electrical items in residential areas outside of the peak hours of 6.30 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4.30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Belco also released handy tips to beat the summer heat, while not putting a drain on electrical supply.

These included using a kitchen exhaust fan to remove excess heat, using light-coloured awnings over windows exposed to direct sunlight and closing blinds, shades or curtains when people are not at home to keep the sun?s heat out.