Anger over years of power cuts misery

Now, the people living and working in and around Harehills Lane and the Strathmores want CE Electric to put a stop to the disruption which they say is ruining their lives.

Power cuts can last anything from one up to 26 hours at a time, and occur about once a month.

Each time the electricity goes off it leaves a local fish and chip shop without its fryers, an estate agent unable to print off house details and an international food shop without its fridges.

All of the buildings – including the nearby homes – are plunged into darkness.

CE Electric says it is “fully committed” to fixing the problem – created by an increased demand for electricity in the area – but after such a wait, its customers are not convinced.

Chantal and John Shires, owners of the Golden Haddock, claim they have been hit 10 times in the last year by power cuts that have been happening since they took over the business in 2007.

They have to throw away food when the fridges and fryers go down and are now having to replace the shop’s CCTV system, which was damaged in a recent power surge.

Mrs Shires said: “It obviously damages the business. It’s shut the shop up several times. We had to throw out £300 worth of fish when the power went off for 26 hours.

“We have still got staff, rent and rates to pay. The electricity company won’t pay out any compensation.”

Granville Smith and his wife June, who live on Strathmore Avenue, have been suffering power cuts at home for the last two and a half years. Their records show that they have been affected at least 15 times.

As their house is run entirely on electricity, power cuts leave them without light, heating, hot water and cooking facilities.

Sam Askham, co-owner of Ask estate agents, said that it was near-impossible to operate a business without electricity. And she is angry that she is now facing a £1,000 bill after the shop’s top of the range printer-fax machine blew in a recent power surge.

A spokesman for CE Electric apologised and said: “We are treating this as a top priority and we have plans in place to bring about a full and permanent solution by increasing capacity in the area as soon as possible.”