Power has been restored to Hamilton and it?s business as usual ? but the planned rotating outage approach in residential areas is still in effect.

That?s according to Belco, who despite the fact that it still could not access its full generating capacity, had restored power to Hamilton by yesterday morning.

But Bermuda is still not in the clear as Belco appealed to businesses to join residents in conserving energy and changing patterns of usage.

Belco spokesperson, Linda Smith said that by Saturday, ten megawatts were added, making approximately 95 megawatts of power available ? while normal summertime energy consumption is approximately 110 megawatts between the hours of 6.30 a.m. and 9 p.m. She said by Saturday night, Belco was able to provide power to its total customer base and continued to do so throughout Sunday.

?During this time, Belco has been able to troubleshoot problems and to continue making improvements to its re-engineering transmission system. By the end of the week, Belco expects to have access to more capacity and to have a more flexible transmission system,? she said.

Adding that right now, the system is still very much at risk, so the less stress placed on it, the better it would perform.

Belco thanked the Island?s residents, as well as businesses that have had electricity, for their efforts to conserve energy and change routines to use appliances during non-peak load hours.

Ms Smith said the response to the appeal for conservation and changes in routine had been so great that Belco had not had to resort to rotating outages yet.

However, she said, today as Hamilton businesses add load to the system, the planned rotating outage approach in residential areas comes into effect.

She encouraged businesses to follow these guidelines in conserving energy:

Set air conditioning systems to 76 degrees and where possible, turn off air conditioners. Reset timers to reduce hours of air conditioning operation. Close curtains or blinds to help keep the buildings cooler and open windows. Where air conditioning is in use, keep exterior and freight doors closed as much as possible.

Where possible, reset water heaters to the lowest acceptable temperature, unplug water heaters that are not essential on infrequently used.

Turn off lights that are not in use or not necessary, such as any external decorative lighting, reset timers to reduce hours of operation. Leave safety lights on.

Turn off computers, monitors and other office equipment at the end of every workday. Turn off equipment that is not in use. Set the energy-saving feature on all equipment, so that they will power down when not in use.

Ms Smith said Belco appreciates the co-operation and support of the entire community, and reminds everyone that the need for energy conservation and changes in routine remain critical. She added that Belco would keep the public informed of progress, as it works to engineer solutions to increase the amount of available power and to improve the stability of the system.