Tens of Thousands Without Power in Latvia After Storm; Rural Areas to Wait Two Days for Restoration

A severe storm has left approximately 75,000 households across Latvia without electricity, prompting extensive restoration efforts. The storm's impact was widespread, affecting the entire country from Ugāle to Krāslava and Dagda, according to Rolands Irklis, chairman of the board of AS "Augstsprieguma tīkls" (Latvian Transmission Grid).

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These are good indicators that with such a large number of power outages, we can restore electricity so quickly.

While the majority of power outages have been resolved, significant challenges remain, particularly in the Latgale region. Irklis reported heavy damage to power lines in Latgale, requiring the removal of fallen trees. Active repair work is also underway in Sēlija and near Ērgļi in Vidzeme.

"These are good indicators that with such a large number of power outages, we can restore electricity so quickly," said Arvis Zīle, head of the Crisis Management Center, highlighting the speed of restoration despite the scale of the damage. Power has already been restored to major customers, and electricity is expected to return to apartment buildings in rural areas today.

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The scale of the power outage caused by the storm was extensive - from Ugāle to Krāslava and Dagda, the entire territory of Latvia was affected.

However, for single-family homes and households in more remote rural areas, the restoration process will take longer. "Sadales tīkls" (Latvian Distribution Grid) management indicated that electricity is planned to be restored to these areas tomorrow, and possibly the day after if necessary. The total number of damage incidents in the power grid is expected to exceed 1,000.

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We have managed to fix most of it, but currently the most active work is in Latgale, where lines have suffered severe damage, and fallen trees need to be removed. Active work is also underway in the Sēlija region and around Ērgļi in Vidzeme.