Parkland Green tenants bemoan lost business after severe power outage
Parkland Green. Photo: Rumi Hardasmalani
SINGAPORE — Power was mostly restored yesterday to affected outlets at Parkland Green in East Coast Park, but it came too late for some who took a hit in business from a power trip that occurred before the long weekend.
Several outlets remained shut, with notices on their doors indicating the uncertainty over power supply.
At least one food and beverage establishment indicated losses to the tune of $6,500 in foregone sales when it had to shutter down on Monday.
“We had to call up our clients, apologise and cancel bookings ... The day before, we had to close after 2pm as power disruptions continued, and we made manual bills offering a 30 per cent discount to patrons,” said an employee of the outlet.
Against an estimated Sunday turnover of more than S$5,000, it barely managed about S$500 in sales and had to send employees on leave on the first day of Chinese New Year, after having hired additional staff in anticipation of increased business.
“We’re gradually getting back to normal as the power supply is restored,” he said yesterday.
Responding to TODAY’s queries, National Parks Board (NParks) director of parks Chia Seng Jiang said: “Our electricians who have been on-site since Friday are continuing to investigate the source of the problem. NParks has been in contact with our tenants to provide assistance and support.”
A power trip had occurred at Block 1A and 1B of Parkland Green on Friday, said NParks, which was notified in the morning, and contractors were activated. Six commercial outlets were affected, and power was temporarily restored to them by 1pm on the same day. However, they continued to experience intermittent disruptions to power supply.
A notice at the entrance of bicycle outlet Pro Cycle stated yesterday that the shop would resume operations on Friday.
Ditto for laser-tag arena Tag Team @ ECP Parkland and Pickmeup cafe. The Cheers store was also closed yesterday.
TODAY had reported on Monday that six of the 11 tenants operating in the recreational space managed by NParks were affected by the power disruption.
A business development manager at one of the outlets said then that her shop, which has been closed since Saturday, suffered “five-digit” losses in foregone sales, and several thousands in inventory losses because its perishables had gone bad.
