Power outage at Orchard Central forces some shops to close early

Orchard Central was hit by a power outage on Dec 12, 2015. ST FILE PHOTO

SINGAPORE - A power outage hit Orchard Central on Saturday (Dec 12) afternoon, forcing some shops to close early for the day.

The problem occurred at about 2pm. Power was restored at some parts of the shopping mall later in the day.

By Sunday early morning, power had returned to all the shops at Orchard Central, but some escalators and the lighting on the facade of the building were still affected, said Mr Eric Tong, assistant director of retail business at Far East Organization.

During the outage on Saturday, some shops referred their clients to other outlets while others put up notices informing customers that they were closing early for the day.

Recognize! Studios, located on the fifth floor, cancelled their dance classes for children and teenagers due to the blackout.

Clothing store, sifr, which is on the second floor, wrote in a Facebook post at about 7pm: "Due to a blackout in orchard central, we are unfortunately closed for the day."

Tanning studio and spa, Pink Parlour Girls, which is on the third floor, referred customers to other outlets in the area.

It wrote in a Facebook post: "We have moved all our therapists to Marina Square and Capitol which are just a few MRT stops away at Promenade and City Hall respectively."

Some customers also tweeted about the blackout.

On Sunday, Far East Organisation confirmed that water seepage during the heavy downpour on Saturday caused the blackout.

"We are now working towards fully restoring the power and investigating the source of water seepage," Mr Tong told The Straits Times.

Far East also apologised to shoppers saying: "We regret any inconvenience caused to our tenants and shoppers and will provide assistance and support where required."

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