City shops hit by power cuts struggling to generate cash
SHOPS and businesses in the city centre say they are losing out on thousands of pounds worth of trade after being hit by regular power cuts.
Dozens of traders in Frederick Street are thought to have been suffering from power blackouts for the past two years due to faults with a power cable supplying the area.
Some businesses have been forced to buy generators to ensure a regular power supply and others claim they have lost whole days of trade as a result of the problem.
ScottishPower said it was trying to identify the source of the fault but businesses in the New Town street are clubbing together to try and force the utility firm to speed up its investigations.
Terri Robertson-Kirkwood, salon director for Charlie Miller on Frederick Street, said dozens of traders were affected by the power cuts, which she said have been gradually getting worse over the past couple of years.
She said: “It is a complete nightmare. How are we supposed to run a hairdressers without a reliable power supply?
“I worked in the Stafford Street salon for 19 years and we had one power cut. I have been here for about eight years and there has been dozens to say the least.
“The cuts vary from a couple of hours to the whole day and we must have lost so much money from ruined appointments.”
Mary Dowlman, a manager at Rick’s bar on Frederick Street, said it had been forced to buy a generator last month to ensure it wasn’t caught out by the power cuts during the Christmas rush.
She said: “It has been a real problem for us and has resulted in us having to close for long periods, including some on Saturday nights.
“I know a lot of businesses are really angry about this and if you think about the impact on the whole street then the cost of these power cuts must be enormous.
“We took the decision to get the generator because we really couldn’t take the risk any more, which is really frustrating because if you are paying your electricity bill then you should be able to expect a reliable supply.”
Traders in Frederick Street have now begun talks to try and form a group to take on ScottishPower about the problem.
Businesses in nearby Hanover Street have also been hit with problems with their electricity supply in recent years.
Bosses at The Three Tuns pub said a power surge in November last year left them with 15,000 worth of damage to their PA system, speakers, fridges and freezers.
The electricity was subsequently off for four days, with the shops and restaurants around the bar also affected.
Fiona Liu, of the Wok and Wine restaurant on Frederick Street, said: “It has affected us quite badly sometimes.
“At night time the cuts are not so bad but if the power is off during the day then it is a problem because that is when we are in preparing our food. It has been going on for sometime now unfortunately.”
A spokeswoman for ScottishPower said the utility firm was currently trying to establish the source of the problem, which is thought to stem from a cable fault.
She said: “We are aware of the fault in the Frederick Street area, which we believe to be a cable fault. We are trying to identify the source of this problem.
“We apologise to all our customers in the area for any inconvenience that the problem is causing.”