Frustration is mounting in Calgary’s Marda Loop neighbourhood as several businesses were forced to close on Tuesday after Enmax shut their power down for a good part of the day.
The scheduled power outage, affecting one block along 34th Avenue Southwest, was required to relocate electrical infrastructure for a new development in the area, according to the utility.
Business owners say it happened at a terrible time — during peak business hours, when they’re already struggling due to construction that has disrupted the area for two years and has even led to legal action against the city.
“That’s $1,000 worth of income for me today. That goes directly back into the business. That is not my personal take-home income, but $1,000 is a lot of money to lose for one day,” said Keri Gordon, owner of the private beauty salon Keri Gordon Hair and Makeup.
Gordon said she received notice about the power shutdown last Wednesday.
She said her landlord supplied a power generator for the building, but she wasn’t confident there would be enough energy to power hair dryers and keep hot water running all day. The other alternative — purchasing her own generator — would be costly.
So, Gordon decided to reschedule all of her appointments, which are typically booked three months in advance.
“The option is either booking them their rescheduled appointment a month away or me working 12-hour days for the next four days to accommodate having to be shut down today because we couldn’t rely on the utilities that we pay for.”
She chose the latter option, worried about breaking trust after already losing some clients due to road closures and a lack of parking in the area.
Walk-ins only
Using the generator his landlord supplied, François Mion had enough power to fire up Bonjour Sandwich Shop offerings for walk-in customers, but he had to shut down online orders because the oven was running too slow. Mion estimates that’s upwards of 70 per cent of his daily business.
He said the disruption “isn’t a huge deal,” but it is compounded by ongoing construction that has affected their family-run business.
“It’s like one thing on top of the other. One day at a time — that’s what I’ve been doing. There’s nothing that we can really do except [say] that we’re not happy,” said Mion.
Now, all he can do is eagerly wait for the Marda Loop Main Street project to wrap up. The city’s website says that should be done by October.
‘Enabling Calgary’s growth’
An Enmax spokesperson said all 27 customers affected by the outage were notified in advance, and Enmax offered to help plan solutions for the day.
“We understand how disruptive and frustrating these outages can be. Enmax worked to balance construction needs of the developer with the needs of local businesses,” said Jessica Connors.
“Supporting projects like this is part of Enmax’s role in enabling Calgary’s growth.”
She said this work had to be done during the day for safety reasons, and power was restored around 1:15 p.m. — three hours earlier than expected.
