More than 1,000 electricity users in central Tokyo were hit by a temporary power outage on Wednesday.

The blackout occurred during business hours in areas including the Shimbashi office district in Minato Ward.

An office worker says the power failure started at around half past noon and lasted for about two hours. The person says lights and heating appliances could not be used during the power cut, and that it was cold.

Some people were seen leaving work early. Lights were still off in some buildings at around 4 p.m.

A man in his 60s says he had to read documents near a window because he couldn't use the computers. He says he gave up and decided to go home when it got dark outside.
A custodian at one of the affected offices said he guided people to the emergency stairs because the elevator stopped working. He said he hoped the power would quickly be restored.

Tokyo Electric Power Company's transmission and distribution arm says about 1,000 users were affected at one point, but that only 20 units were without service as of 4 p.m.

The company says it is investigating the cause of the disruption.