Businesses in Colchester were forced to shut after storms cut off their power.
Customers had to be evacuated from the shops after an EDF Energy substation in London Road, Copford, was struck by lightning.
Tollgate Retail Park, Stanway, was affected by the failure, along with more than 1,000 more businesses and homes in the area on Saturday as rain pelted down across the county.
Supermarket Sainsbury's managed to keep customers out of the dark for just over an hour after back-up generators kicked in, but was then forced to close after they gave out.
The substation, which suffered no major damage but was checked out by firefighters as a precaution, was struck at 1.30pm.
Power was restored to the majority of customers by just after 4pm. Generators were sent out to 21 homes at 7pm to tide them over.
Published Monday July 19, 2004
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