A contractor has said a decision to switch off the power to 130 homes in Bransford for up to eight hours was avoidable
The decision was taken by Central Networks while work was carried out at the Bank House Hotel Golf and Country Club.
Nearby homes were without power from 8am to 4pm on Monday, while roadside earth embankments were lowered.
Tony Southall, director of Five Star Contractors, said a safety leaflet handed out before work began said that if earth-moving vehicles had restrictor devices to stop them touching overhead power lines, electricity could be kept on.
"We have restrictors on all our vehicles," he said.
But Rebecca Middleton, from Central Networks, said: "We have an obligation to ensure the safety of staff, contractors and the community.
"There's absolutely no way work to the embankments could be carried out in a safe manner if the power remained on."
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