KEVON FELMINE
kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt
While many supermarkets and restaurants in Couva had power generators during yesterday's blackout, some businesses are counting their losses today.
President of the Couva Point Lisas Chamber of Commerce, Mukesh Ramsingh, says reports are still coming in after businesses with chillers, and freezers, lost perishable goods.
Trinidad was left without power from around 12:50 pm yesterday after a fault developed in the T&TEC system. It returned around 9 pm in the Central town, but Ramsingh said it was a scary experience for residents and business owners.
"Of course, people lost a lot of business, having to close for half the day," Ramsingh said.
There was frustration and fear because of the limited information coming from government authorities on what was taking place. It led to traffic congestion as people rushed home, worried about their safety. There were also long lines at fuel stations as motorists were unsure how long the outage would last.
"By the time people got word of what was taking place and realised it was a national shutdown, 90 per cent of the businesses closed up and went home. I think it was more of a frustration than anything else, not knowing what was taking place. I thought the information did not come out in a timely manner," the Chamber president said.
Ramsingh reported that businesses feared well against criminals during the blackout as police officers on motorcycles patrolled the streets in the afternoon. He said everyone is waiting to find out the cause of the outage and what measures the State will implement to ensure no recurrence.