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The power black out on Fiji’s main island this morning has cost local businesses a lot of damages, said Fiji Retailers Association President Himmat Lodhia.
Electricity was cut off on Viti Levu at around 4am today after lightening struck one of the power lines at the Monasavu dam and .
Lodhia said the six-hours black out also forced schools to close.
“As we all know schools were disrupted – and all schedules for businesses were fouled up. Suddenly staff did not turn up as the parents had to now look after their kids from unscheduled school break.”
Lodhia claims that all electronic sales systems, which are used by almost all shop owners, had come to a halt meaning incomplete sales.
“There were electrical and electronic equipment reported damaged at a few instances. Electronic gates and safes for businesses were jammed and could be opened after a lot of difficulty. Supermarkets reported damages to frozen food. Food and refrigerated drinks taste different to some customers owing to fluctuations of temperatures.
“Overall there was a lot of inconvenience owing to power disruption.”
“We know that such acts of nature happen in other big cities like Sydney and Auckland. But they handle the problems differently and such long black outs should be a thing of the past. FEA in Fiji should act smarter in such instances.”
The FEA has yet to respond to the retailers’ concern.
