DOZENS of homes and businesses in the centre of Wellington were set to go most of the day on Saturday (July 11) without power as the town experienced the third day of an amber heat health alert, the second highest level.

Temperatures were forecast to reach 32C on Saturday when a low voltage fault saw more than 30 properties lose their electricity supply shortly before 7.45 am.

Nearly half of the affected properties were reconnected before 10 am but National Grid said it did not expect the fault to be fully repaired until 4 pm.

A spokesperson said: “There is a fault on the underground power cables and we are working to fix this.

“Our engineers are working to get electricity back on as quickly as possible.

“We are sorry for the disruption.

“We give our best estimate for when power will be back on, based on what we know at the time.

“Times might change if we face unexpected challenges getting to the fault.

“These times show when the last person in the area will have power back, most will be reconnected before this.”

The affected area mostly covered Buckwell and Scotts Lane, including the Blackdown Business Park.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) warning about heat extends until 9 pm on Sunday.

A UKHSA spokesperson said: “Significant impacts are likely across health and social care services due to the high temperatures.”

They warned there was a risk of increased deaths, ‘particularly among those aged 65 and over or with health conditions’.

There was also a risk that increased demand for power might exceed the capacity of the electricity network.