Stanley businesses are fighting to delay a full-day power shutdown scheduled for one of the north-west town’s busiest tourist periods.
TasNetworks will switch off power across Stanley’s main business district on April 9 from 8:30am to 4pm for a transformer upgrade.
Local business owners say they were never consulted on the timing.
Tracey Jacobs, owner of Stanley Hotel, said the decision has frustrated the town’s business community.
“We’ve had a great season, been very busy and April is constant too,” she said.
“The bit that I think has annoyed most is their lack of consultation.”
The hotel will close until 4pm on the day, costing the business a full day of trade and staff their shifts.
Cleaning the hotel’s 30 accommodation rooms without power for vacuuming also creates extra challenges, Jacobs said.
Kim Gorton, manager of BIG4 Tassie Getaway Parks Stanley, said the caravan park will have to hire generators to keep the office functioning while guests are on site.
“We’ll probably have to put a generator on to try and keep that part running, but then it [will] affect our laundry side of things and our cleaning,” she said.
The park’s cabins are fully booked for the period.
Gorton said guests relying on CPAP machines or other medical equipment could be left without power for hours.
Fridges, electric barbecues and the games room will also be out of action.
Jacobs said many Stanley businesses have contacted TasNetworks asking for the work to be pushed back to May when tourist numbers naturally drop.
TasNetworks has refused, telling businesses “the date is set”.
CEO Sean McGoldrick said the upgrade was “crucial for a business customer with significant supply issues” and had already been postponed once in January.
“We’re committed to working with affected customers to minimise the impact wherever possible,” he said.
“We try to schedule planned works at the most convenient times, where we can.”
McGoldrick said rescheduling again would add costs to contractors and significantly delay works.
Jacobs said she and other business owners will continue pushing for a postponement.
