RESTAURANTS and shops in Deansgate were hit by a power cut today.
A worker from Help Your Claim Ltd revealed that a main utility water pipe burst in the basement of their building, forcing power to be turned off at 11.30am due to fears of a potential explosion.
450 fellow workers were sent home as a result.
Shoecare shop assistant Ryan said: “The building manager said it would be about 2 and a half hours. ENWL the electric company said that there was a blow to a high voltage box or something like that and they can’t do anything about it.”
The power cut affected one side of the road only, forcing most restaurants and shops between Gaucho and Tesco Express to close.
Business was undoubtedly interrupted.
Ryan added: “Keys cut, shoes repairs… can’t do any of that. Even this watch, I’ll need to get a torch because I can’t see what I’m doing.”
Danny, who also works at Shoecare said: “Apparently what’s happened is that someone went through not only the cable but has also damaged the water mains with it. So the electricians are pumping water out and as quickly as they are pumping the water out, it’s filling up. So they are waiting for the water boards to turn the water off so they can drain it again to see what the damage is. But he reckons best case scenario, tomorrow morning. That’s what the electrician said.”
Stephen, Manager at Gaucho said that the building manager John has simply received an email from Electricity North West saying:
“We are sorry for the electricity interruption you may be experiencing, 95% of our customers affected by a high voltage fault of this nature have their supply restored within 2 hours. As we work towards restoring your supply you may experience further intermittent interruptions. Further advice is available on our website www.enwl.co.uk. If we are not able to restore within this time we will be back in touch. Thanks ENWL.”
Stephen went on to say: “At the moment I know absolutely nothing other than my power is out. He said it would be 2 hours and its been 2 hours and nothing.”
This unexpected power cut has resulted in businesses having to turn away their customers and cancelling reservations.
Telephone lines and internet connections are also unavailable and it is still unknown as to when power will be restored.
Article by Liliana Lopes and Martina Moscariello
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