NEWSPORT NEWSFEED: Gas outages impact Port business

Port Douglas hospitality outlets were forced to shut shop across Sunday and into Monday when their gas supplies were shut down, and left angered when they could get no answers regarding the issue.

Some business are known to now be seeking compensation for losses and having to send staff home as a result of the shutdown.

Paddy's manager Fiona Toovey said having the gas shut off on Sunday meant her team had to improvise.

"We were opening on Sunday and the chefs realised there was no gas. It was a surprise but we had to figure out what we could do,'' she said.

"The worse part about this was that there was zero information given to us by anyone. Even after we tried to contact people to find out what happened.

"We were lucky that we could still offer some items from the menu, and the customers where very understanding.

"It gave us that eerie feeling from earlier this year when the water was out and nobody would tell us why. We spoke to the other venues in Port and no one had answers.''

Responding to questions from Newsport about the status of the outage, an Origin spokesman provided a statement shortly after noon today, Monday, November 25, about the outage and return of services.

“The reticulated gas network that serves Port Douglas shut down early on Sunday morning following a regulator failure.

"Origin’s LPG team responded once alerted, shut down the network and repaired the faulty regulator and are now working to safely reconnect customers.

"We wish to thank customers for their patience and apologise for any inconvenience.”