President: ESO Communication Misleads Consumers After Storm

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has sharply criticized the communication strategy of the national electricity distributor, ESO, following a severe storm that left thousands without power for days. The president stated that the company's messaging about electricity restoration has been insufficient and misleading, particularly concerning temporary power supplies.

"Such chaotic communication raises doubts among consumers about legal entitlement to compensation and ESO's reliability," the president's office conveyed in a statement. He highlighted that many consumers still lacked electricity more than three days after the storm hit, causing significant disruption.

In response to the ongoing issues and consumer concerns, President Nausėda has called for a thorough review by the State Audit Office. He wants the office to evaluate the procedures for determining and allocating compensation to ensure that all eligible consumers receive their rightful payments. This review aims to prevent any arbitrary assessments of the situation.

ESO has previously announced it would compensate direct storm damages for customers experiencing outages longer than 72 hours, with a maximum simplified compensation of 220 euros. Applications for this compensation are expected to be available through ESO's self-service portal starting in September. The storm, which swept through Lithuania over the weekend, caused widespread damage, including fallen trees, one fatality, and four injuries. Initially, over 268,000 consumers experienced power outages, with approximately 62,000 still affected by Thursday morning. ESO plans to restore power to all remaining customers by the end of the week, with assistance expected from Polish energy distribution brigades and potentially Latvia.

“

Such chaotic communication raises doubts among consumers about legal entitlement to compensation and ESO's reliability.