“We are currently in the final stage of restoring electricity supply – the supply has already been restored for the majority of customers, but about 30 thousand customers remain for whom the restoration of electricity supply is delayed due to very complex network damages. We are looking for all possible solutions to help people get through this period more easily, and at our request, by the decision of the emergency situation operations manager, it was allowed to use the state generator reserve. Now, together with municipalities, we are specifying the exact needs so that generators can be delivered as quickly as possible to where they are most needed,” says ESO head Renaldas Radvila.
Read more Turkey summoned the Ukrainian ambassador over attacks in the Black Sea
On Saturday, ESO continues to restore the electricity supply network after the record storm last weekend. Supply has been fully restored in the Klaipėda and Šiauliai regions, and most disruptions have also been eliminated in other regions, but about 30 thousand affected customers still remain. Their supply is still not restored due to very complex and extensive network damages.
Temporary electricity supply with generators has been ensured for some of these customers until the network repair works are fully completed. There are currently more than 300 of them in different parts of the country. The ESO team is constantly looking for additional opportunities to ensure temporary electricity supply. Information about additional generators in the elderships can be found on the generator map.
After the storm that devastated Lithuania on August 22, more than 9 thousand network damages were recorded in total, with power lines completely destroyed in some places and entire network sections needing to be newly laid.
At the peak, more than 268 thousand ESO customers were left without electricity supply. Currently, electricity supply has been restored to almost 90% of customers. The most complex and isolated disruptions remain in the Anykščiai, Molėtai, Utena, and Zarasai districts, as well as in the Ukmergė municipalities. All of these are planned to be resolved by September 3.
Updated information for the 10% of customers whose electricity supply has not yet been restored can be found here.
On Saturday afternoon, supply was fully restored in the municipalities of Šiauliai city and district, Mažeikiai district, Akmenė district, Druskininkai, Vilnius city, Kaunas city, Šalčininkai district, Klaipėda city and district, Neringa, Kretinga district, Palanga city, Rietavas district, Skuodas district, Telšiai district, and Gargždai district.
More than a thousand employees are still working to restore electricity as quickly as possible in these regions: Utena (14 thousand customers), Kaunas (5.7 thousand customers), Panevėžys (6.7 thousand customers), Alytus (2.4 thousand customers), Šiauliai (590 customers), Vilnius (400 customers), Klaipėda (96 customers).
Private and business customers whose electricity supply was restored later than 72 hours after the storm consequences will be entitled to compensation. It will be applied in the usual manner – customers will not need to apply for it. Also, ESO will additionally compensate residents for direct storm losses under a simplified procedure. More information about compensations can be found here.
The storm once again showed that the greatest risk to the electricity network is posed by overhead lines, especially in forested areas. According to ESO data, about 86% of electricity supply disruptions were recorded precisely in forested areas, where falling trees and broken branches damage power lines and supports.
One of the most effective ways to reduce this risk is to replace overhead lines with underground cables.
ESO manages about 135 thousand kilometers of electricity network, of which about 39% already consists of cable lines. The company prioritizes cabling in the most vulnerable places, primarily in forested areas.
Just last year, ESO cabled 368 kilometers of overhead lines in forested areas. By 2028, about 2 thousand kilometers of overhead lines are planned to be replaced with cables, and in 2026 about 700 kilometers of cables are planned to be laid in forested areas.
