Parts of Inverness city centre suffered a power cut yesterday.
Businesses in Castle Street closed early after the power went out just before 4pm.
A jury trial was adjourned early at Inverness Sheriff Court in the castle itself after the electricity went out, leaving the court running on emergency generators.
Council staff left the Town House after it was also affected by the cut out.
However, businesses on the other side of the road were unaffected, with life continuing as normal on neighbouring Church Street and High Street.
A spokeswoman for SSE said that the problem was due to problems with safety equipment at a substation at Waterloo Street.
The energy company confirmed that 62 properties had been affected by the blackout.
The power was restored to the area after about 50 minutes.
However, some shop workers were concerned that no one had been in touch to reassure them about the problem.
Esther Dowie, a volunteer at the CLC Bookshop, said: “I don’t know what the number is to call the power company so I really didn’t know what was going on.
“All it would take is for someone to knock on a few doors or someone who has managed to speak to the company to spread the word about.
“I’m not that badly affected though. I just wish the alarm would stop making a racket.”
People were evicted from some of pubs and restaurants in the area due to the power cut.
Abbie Fraser from Number 27 bar/restaurant on Castle Street, said: “We were lucky that it was the quietest part of the day when the power went off.
“It’s not ideal but you’ve just got to shut the door, there’s not much more that you can do.”
The power cut, whilst an inconvenience, was nothing in comparison to the last major power cut to hit the area when virtually the whole of the Highlands and islands was left in the dark by a fault on a line between Moray and Inverness.