Representations made today by Wallsend MP, Sonia Hornery, on behalf of the Maryland Caltex Service Station may be unwarranted.
Ms Hornery criticised a move by Ausgrid to conduct a planned power outage in the Maryland area on Thursday. She feared the Service Station would be forced to close, jeopardising $100,000 worth of stock and potentially causing the business to lose over $40, 000.
She said she understands the power needs to be switched off on Thursday, however believes Ausgrid and their accredited service provider, Transelect, need to do more to ensure minimal impact on affected businesses.
It is understood the Maryland Caltex has obtained a generator and will be open tomorrow.
The planned outage comes due to the need for a new business in Wallsend to be connected to the network, and is scheduled to occur between 8am and 5pm tomorrow- however Phillipa Wheeler from Ausgrid expects it will not take the full nine hours to complete the works.
She says there are around 300 residential and business customers who will be subject to this power outage, and all have been given nine days notice and told to find alternate power sources during this time.
"I believe everyone who needs to has made arrangements...I believe the service station will be open tomorrow.
"That's the reason notification is provided for planned outages, so businesses can make plans to cope with interruptions."
 |
| Caltex Maryland. Source: Google Maps. |
