It’s been a tough 24 hours for the last 3,281 homes without power as well as the Belco crews trying to restore electricity to them.

The technicians failed to make any significant impact in the overall total of homes without power during the course of the yesterday.

And this was not helped by a commercial vehicle hitting a Belco pole on Dock Hill in Devonshire and downing wires, which in turn triggered a fault that tripped the National Sports Centre substation.

Yesterday evening the power provider was forced to send out an emergency message urging householders using generators to make sure they were connected properly after potentially perilous cases of “back feeding” into Belco’s system.

Meanwhile 12 linesman from the Caribbean arrived last night, and later this week a further five technicians are expected to arrive to bolster the restoration operation.

Last night a Belco spokeswoman said: “This has been a challenging day due to that truck that took out a Belco pole and other equipment on Dock Hill, and triggered a fault that tripped our National Stadium substation. It diverted resources away from planned work.

“We are getting into the portion of the restoration process where we are addressing many small jobs.

“We are very glad to have the CARILEC crews providing support.

“Thanks to CARILEC and the electric utilities in Bahamas, Barbados and Belize, today we will have more crews in the field addressing small jobs.

“This is good news, as each of these jobs can be time-consuming.

“By the end of the week, crews from the Cayman Islands will also join the restoration process, helping to expedite the work.”

As of noon yesterday 3,281 Belco customers were still without power, which was the same number as yesterday morning.

The spokeswoman added: “We are urging anyone with a generator to make sure it is connected properly. Some customers have not connected theirs properly and there have been incidents of them back feeding into Belco’s transmission and distribution system. No one has been hurt yet, and we want to keep our workers and customers safe.

“Never try to power your house by plugging the generator into a wall outlet, a practice known as ‘back feeding’. It can lead to the electrocution of utility workers or neighbours served by the same utility transformer.

“Plug appliances directly into the generator, or use a heavy duty, outdoor-rated extension cord that is rated (in watts or amps) at least equal to the sum of the connected appliance loads.

“The only safe way to connect a generator to house wiring is to have a qualified electrician install a power transfer switch.”

Meanwhile the spokeswoman refuted rumours that Belco staff had called in sick due to frustrations over work hours and the introduction of CARILEC staff.

“We have one person who was exhausted and is out sick,” she said. “Other than that, there is no indication the rumour is true.

“We do give crew the flexibility to take themselves off the work roster if they feel they are too tired and cannot work safely. You have seen them at it, so you know this doesn’t happen often, as they are running on adrenalin.

She also shot down rumours that Belco did not have an adequate supply of materials to carry out the necessary repairs as false.

“Before the storms struck, Belco already had enough materials on hand, including poles, transformers, cross arms and cut outs,” she said. “In addition, we had materials air freighted in the day before Hurricane Gonzalo. And, in addition to that, we have had materials delivered already this week by container ship, and more materials are being delivered later in the week.”