HAMILTON, Bermuda, (CMC) — Only just over one thousand customers serviced by the Bermuda Electric Light Company (Belco) remained without power on Sunday as the island continues to return normal after being battered by Hurricane Nicole last Thursday.

During the passage of the storm, 27,000 customers, suffered outages as the Category three storm ploughed across the 21 square mile British Overseas Territory.

However, work is being done to restore service and by early Sunday just 1,112 customers were without power, down from the 2,734 on Saturday.

“Many of the remaining customers are in small pockets, many are single calls,” said a Belco spokeswoman.  However, there are several areas where there are still double-digit numbers remaining to be restored.”

Sean Durfy, chief executive officer of the Ascendant Group, which owns Belco, said although Nicole was a Category 3, going on a Category 4 hurricane, “she wasn’t as devastating as she could have been”.

Meanwhile, the Bermuda Telephone Company – the Internet and cable TV providers were also whittling down the number of customers who lost service during the storm.

As a result of Nicole’s torrential rain, which left several areas flooded, the island’s total rainfall for the year rise to 62 inches – that is 17 inches above normal.

In addition, schools, which closed on Thursday, are due to reopen on Monday, although some places are still be assessed.