BUSINESS owners have been left thousands of pounds out of pocket after they closed down for a whole day ahead of a planned power cut which never happened.

SSEN delivered letters to 27 businesses in Churchfields on Friday, February 2, to tell them their electricity would be turned off from 9am until 3pm on Tuesday, February 13.

Dozens of businesses decided to close for the day as the disruption would prevent them from operating computer systems, phone lines and in some cases their front doors.

However, some of the businesses expecting a power cut were shocked to find out they were unaffected.

Salisbury Journal: Wessex Packaging owner Brian Clayton, 59, with employees Dean Clayton and Tony Hartin.Wessex Packaging owner Brian Clayton, 59, with employees Dean Clayton and Tony Hartin. (Image: Newsquest)

Brian Clayton,  59, owner of Wessex Packaging on Mitchell Road, closed for the day based on SSEN's false information and it has caused "untold problems".

"We have lost at least £5k in production time. Now we have to make that up in overtime so it's time and a half. Some of the guys have lost their holidays all for nothing," he told the Journal.

Mr Clayton has expressed his displeasure with MP John Glen and described the planned outage as "a joke".

"It is not someone at home with an electric light in the middle of summer - we're businesses, it has a knock on effect, and they have to get things right."

V-tec Automotive, also on Mitchell Road, had 16 jobs booked in which had to be rearranged after SSEN notified of the power cut.

Salisbury Journal: V-tec Automotive closed but was unaffected by the power cut.V-tec Automotive closed but was unaffected by the power cut. (Image: Google Maps)

Business owner, Thomas Plastow, from Salisbury, came in to find the lights working after giving all his employees the day off.

Mr Plastow has lost £4-5k due to the false alarm, he said: "It was a bit of a disaster for us. We're extremely busy it is not great for us or the customers who have been booked in for two weeks for MOTs. We have had to try and squeeze them into spaces before their MOT expires. It was a pointless exercise which makes it even more annoying.

"I think it's a complete joke that they did not know which businesses are tied into which electricity supply."

Power cut was 'massively inconvenient'

Salisbury Glass Centre closed its main sales centre and was one of the few businesses that were affected by SSEN's power cut.

Salisbury Journal: Managing director Luke Gower, 33, and group chief financial and procurement director David Naish.Managing director Luke Gower, 33, and group chief financial and procurement director David Naish. (Image: Newsquest)

Managing director Luke Gower, 33, said the business lost a large amount of money in missed sales as 10 of his employees were unable to work.

Some of his workers were relocated to the commercial arm of the business, on the other side of the Churchfields industrial estate.

Mr Gower said: "It was massively inconvenient. Myself and David spent hours trying to fight it let alone the hours we spent relocating.

"Why they couldn't do it out of hours or at the weekend is beyond me."

Tim Whitmarsh, 58, owns Aquatec and decided to stay open despite his electricity being cut off for the majority of the working day.

Salisbury Journal: Tim Whitmarsh, owner of Aquatec, stayed open but 'muddled through'.Tim Whitmarsh, owner of Aquatec, stayed open but 'muddled through'. (Image: Newsquest)

He described the situation as "awkward and embarrassing" as customers questioned whether he had forgot to pay his energy bill.

"It was absolute chaos with the lights, phones and computers down. It's wrong to be able to do in this day and age when generators are on hand. We're all trying to make a living and do our jobs so surely it's better to work together," Mr Whitmarsh added.

SSEN was contacted for comment.