Several stores in the City remained closed as the Barbados Light & Power Company tried to resolve the power outage which has affected thousands of homes and hundreds of businesses across the island.
Bridgetown workers and scores of shoppers were dazed by the power outage early Monday morning which affected heavy populated areas of Bridgetown and St. Michael.
When The Barbados Advocate visited the City around 8:30 a.m., Bridgetown shoppers were forced to stand on the outside of stores as they waited for businesses to open. Traffic lights were out of service and although traffic was gradually increasing, many drivers gave way to pedestrians as they entered the City.
Only a handful of stores due to their own generators were able to operate including the lottery agency on Independence Square, a few beauty stores along Broad Street and Swan Street and major commercial banks and credit unions and their automated teller machines (ATMs).
Several customers who decided to perform transactions in operating businesses in the City were affected by the lack of air conditioning. The temperature yesterday was recorded as 30.2 degrees Celsius by the Barbados Meteorological Services (BMS). Many Bridgetown employees stood at the entrance of stores drinking water to keep cool while they waited for the electricity to come back on at their workplace. At 10:34 a.m. there was still no electricity in the City.
The National Library, popular retail malls, Cave Shepherd, Massy Stores and Norman Centre kept their doors closed during the power outage.
Visitors were also impacted by the power outage as many passed through Bridgetown and walked down to the island’s port.
As recent as last week, the media reported that the Barbados Light & Power was working on restoring power to several parishes across the island. Throughout most of 2019, the island sole power company has been experiencing several power outages that have affected hundreds of businesses and thousands of homes.