THE anger and frustration felt back in July when a series of power cuts hit Alresford turned to smiles as the utility firm involved made its peace with the community.

The town centre was temporarily off-grid while planned works were carried out by Scottish and Southern Energy Networks (SSEN) so the busy West Street and Broad Street shops – and homes – had to be have their power supplied by large generators.

Winchester and Alresford MP Steve Brine said: “One of the rigs failed just after 9am one Saturday morning and wasn’t back online until early afternoon.

“A similar power cut had taken place a few days earlier costing many businesses valuable trading time.”

Mr Brine took up the case and demanded answers SSEN for the “totally unacceptable debacle”. At the time, he said: “Saturday morning is a key trading period for shops in Alresford and they cannot afford to lose that income.

“I have spoken with a number of businesses in the town who said they had received no notice from SSEN that the works were even taking place so we clearly need to look into this.”

According to Mr Brine, SSEN did eventually respond to confirm that the Alresford generator had run out of fuel due to a ‘miscalculation’ by the company as to the correct amount of fuel required and it was keen to apologise to those businesses affected. It also confirmed it has revised its method of calculating fuel requirements when re-fuelling so that the problem does not arise again.

He said: “The apology was very welcome but, after a little encouragement, they offered to also make a donation of £500 to the town as a goodwill gesture, via local charity. I contacted Alresford Pigs and we agreed the donation would be made to its 2017 Christmas Tree fund, which plays such an important part in ensuring Alresford remains an attractive and vibrant destination during the key festive period. Many shops have challenges at this time and I know they need a good Christmas this year more than ever.”

Oliver Barnes, of the Pigs, said: “We are thrilled with this generous gesture from SSEN and it’s very fitting we can use these funds to help light up Alresford’s Christmas.”

Ray Hunter, SSEN network construction manager for the South East Region added: “Our customers and their communities are at the heart of everything we do, and we are delighted to be helping Alresford Pigs with this year’s Christmas tree.”