Power cuts cost retailers money in run up to Christmas

WHSmith, Patrick Meechan Hair Design and Shoe Zone in Cowgate have all been plunged into darkness due to a cable fault.

The power failures forced the businesses to close in November, during the recent gale force winds, and again on December 15, and 16.

John Barclay, manager at WHSmith, which includes a busy post office, said: “The power kept on tripping and a fault was found in a cable.

“There are a lot of elderly people who use the post office and they had to go elsewhere. Hopefully this time it is fixed.”

Hair salon owner Patrick Meechan said: “ScottishPower knew about the problem, but they didn’t come to fix it until last Tuesday because it meant digging the road up.

“A lot of business has been lost and we don’t get any compensation.

“We rescheduled appointments, but it’s the inconvenience to clients. It’s been quite frustrating.”

One Herald reader commented on Facebook: “I tried to go to the post office but the shop was closed due to loss of power, first week in December.

“It may sound obvious, but power doesn’t go off in one store for no reason. There’s a big electrical problem if the whole store is closed.”

ScottishPower said the problem was down to a “transient cable fault”, which has been fixed, adding: “It was intermittent and not showing itself in the system. We apologise for the inconvenience.”

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