UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Engineers are working to restore power after outages disrupted businesses in Edinburgh’s Old Town just days before Hogmanay celebrations.
Due to the power outages, at least thirty eateries and bars in The Grassmarket have been “crippled” by a large decline in Christmas business.
Pub owners claimed that the area’s businesses, which are well-liked by New Year’s revelers, were thrown into “a black hole” during the celebration.
According to SP Energy Networks, there are sporadic problems with the area’s power supply, and the business is working “utmost to resolve the issue” as quickly as possible.
The owners of the pubs have written to the CEO of SP Energy Networks regarding the power outages they claim to have experienced during the holiday seasons since 2021.
It reads:
“While we appreciate SP Energy Networks’ apologies and the assurance that network condition reviews are underway, the recurring nature of these outages indicates systemic vulnerabilities that require urgent and permanent solutions.
The current approach of reactive repairs is insufficient to safeguard businesses and customers in this critical hospitality district.”
Several power outages have forced partygoers to leave the area, and the companies claimed they were tallying the expenses.
It stated that “the longstanding issue remained unresolved” .
During the holiday season, some venues have complained that power outages occur many times a day, “putting Christmas trade in the dark”.
A SP Energy Networks spokeswoman, said:
“We’re experiencing intermittent issues with the power supply to the Grassmarket area of Edinburgh and would like to reassure all customers and businesses that we’re doing our utmost to resolve the issue as soon as possible ahead of Hogmanay celebrations starting later.”
Businesses in Grassmarket lost the entire Friday night service and the full Saturday lunch service in a single December weekend, costing numerous venues thousands of pounds in lost income.
Customers lost power between 15:00 and 17:00 and again between 18:00 and 20:00 on Tuesday, she added, as a result of a low voltage protection fuse operating due to an intermittent issue being detected.
“Power tripped again mid-morning today and we’re currently on site and working to resolve this as soon as possible,”
she said.
“Our staff are going door-to-door in the Grassmarket to reassure customers that we’re doing our utmost to ensure there are no further disruptions on Wednesday.”
She said that they were pleased to meet with businesses in the new year and that they were putting more employees on standby through midnight and into the early hours of New Year’s Day.
What compensation options exist for affected businesses in Scotland?
Affected businesses in Edinburgh’s Old Town, hit by repeated power outages from SP Energy Networks, have limited automatic compensation options under Scottish regulations, primarily counting on goodwill gestures or formal complaints rather than statutory payouts.
SP Energy Networks must restore force within 12 hours( day) or 24 hours( darkness) for interruptions over 3 hours; failure triggers fixed payments of £50-£200 per domestic cadence, but businesses qualify only if outages exceed 18 hours, with claims via the supplier’s gate within 3 months.
For shorter marketable outages, businesses can pursue the Energy Ombudsman( free after 8- week complaint) or small claims court for proven losses like putrefied stock or lost profit, supported by bills; bar possessors’ recent letter demands a devoted fund, citing £100,000 periodic successes during peak seasons like Hogmanay.