Updated: STORES in the heart of York were forced to shut after a power cut led to part of the city centre being blacked out.
The problems with the electricity supply serving scores of businesses in the city happened just before 1.30pm yesterday, with Marks & Spencer, Fenwick, Argos and Topshop among those affected.
The cost to businesses of lost trade over the busy lunch hour was still being counted.
Electricity provider CE Electric has blamed a fault on an underground cable network, which the firm said affected 422 of its customers for the outage, which also struck York Crown Court.
All customers had had their power restored by 2.45pm, said a spokesman who apologised for any inconvenience caused.
The snag also led Lloyds TSB branch on Pavement and the nearby Halifax branch closing as their cash machines were put out of action by the power cut. York Station and York Hospital were unaffected, as was the city’s traffic light network and many of its tourist attractions.
A spokesman for Marks & Spencer said they were able to continue trading during the problems with the power supply, while the Tesco store in Low Ousegate was unaffected.
The neighbouring Slug & Lettuce bar was forced to deal with the effects of the power cut for almost an hour and assistant manager Andrew Morley said: “We stopped letting people in because, without electricity, the fans are cut off and all the tills went down.
“We had a few people still waiting and we apologise to them.”
Streets affected by the power cut included Castlegate, Colliergate, Fossgate, Pavement and surrounding areas, according to a spokesman for CE Electric, who added that the cable which caused the problems in York had since been rerouted.
Power plunge
YESTERDAY, Scottish Power issued a stark warning by announcing a 19 per cent increase in the cost of electricity. Then as if by fate, we were reminded of our reliance on electricity; at just after 1.30pm, much of the city centre suffered a black-out.
Hundreds of properties were left without power as credit card machines stopped working, lights went out and shops were forced to close.
The situation was quickly resolved, but the power cut – and Scottish Power’s warning – reminded us that we are increasingly dependent on unseen technology to run our complex lives. Of course, the cut could have happened, whatever source our electricity came from. But being without power, if it teaches us anything at all, demonstrates that alternative forms of energy are not only a green initiative, they could well become crucial to our existence.
So more effort must be put into finding affordable substitutes for coal, oil and gas.
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