BUSINESSES in Horsham town centre were disrupted for a second day in a row this afternoon (Tuesday February 7) due to a number of power cuts.
Yesterday (Monday 6) traders across the Carfax, East, Middle and West Street were left without lighting, phone lines and the internet, and were forced to close their shops, banks and salons as a result.
Engineers from UK Power Networks were on the scene shortly after the cut around 3.30pm to fix the faulty transformer at a nearby electrical sub-station in The Causeway.
Janet Smythe, assistant manager at The Edinburgh Woollen Mill, in West Street, said: “We had to close around 3.45pm after the lights went out and shoppers couldn’t see where they were going.”
Some power was restored and shops re-opened just after 4.30pm.
However, just an hour after full power was back at 6pm, another problem struck wiping out electricity at Horsham businesses until 12.10am this afternoon.
A spokesperson from UK Power Networks said: “At 3.23pm yesterday (February 6), about 30 customers in the Market Square area of Horsham experienced an interruption to their supplies because of a fault on the underground electricity network.
“UK Power Networks worked as quickly and as safely as possible with supplies restored at about 6pm. Unfortunately, the problem was repeated at 7.31pm with supplies back on at 12.10am today.
“While engineers were reconfiguring the network today [Tuesday 7], another fault, on a different section of the cables, affected customers in the same area.
“About 30 properties were without power for about half an hour from 11.30am.
“We appreciate how difficult it is to lose power, especially when it is cold and dark, and would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused by these incidents.
“UK Power Networks is constantly working to improve the performance of its network and to meet future needs for power.
“The company’s £360 million investment in its electricity networks this year (2011/12) is part of a projected annual investment of £1.8 billion over the five years to 2015.”
Were you affected by the power cut? Leave your comments below, contact 01403 751267 or email ollie.mcateer@sussexnewspapers.co.uk