However, supply has been fully restored in the Klaipėda and Šiauliai regions, and most disruptions have also been resolved in other regions.
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“Currently, there are still about 30 thousand customers across Lithuania for whom supply has not been restored due to very complex and extensive network damages,” the statement says.
It is planned that the network repair work will be fully completed within the next few days.
“We understand people’s disappointment and the inconveniences they experience due to the delayed restoration of electricity supply. ESO and contractor teams are working day and night to restore electricity to homes as quickly as possible, but the scale of the damage is unprecedented,” says ESO public relations representative Rasa Juodkienė.
“Immediately after the storm, it was planned to complete all restoration work within a week, but later the true extent of the damage became clear, especially in remote, forested areas. In some places, network restoration is not even possible – it must be rebuilt from scratch. We take responsibility for the inaccurate initial restoration forecast for all customers and are considering additional compensation options for customers who still do not have electricity,” she says.
In those areas where most network damages occurred and repair work will take longer than planned, generators are operating – there are more than 300 of them in different parts of the country. The ESO team is constantly looking for additional possibilities to ensure temporary electricity supply.
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Currently, the most difficult and isolated disruptions remain in the municipalities of Anykščiai, Molėtai, Utena, Zarasai, and Ukmergė. All of them are planned to be resolved by September 3.
On Saturday afternoon, supply was fully restored in the city and district of Šiauliai, Palanga, Rietavas, Skuodas, Telšiai, Gargždai, Kretinga, Šalčininkai, Mažeikiai, Akmenė districts, Druskininkai, Vilnius city, Kaunas, Klaipėda city and district, and Neringa municipalities.
More than a thousand employees are still working to restore electricity as soon 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 due to the storm’s consequences will be entitled to compensation. ESO also promises to compensate residents for direct storm losses with a simplified procedure.
“Compensations will be paid to all customers whose electricity supply was not restored within 72 hours. We understand that people suffered significant losses, so all compensation mechanisms will work smoothly: those provided by law, direct loss and damage compensation. And the longer a company or person was without electricity, the greater the compensation will be,” says R. Juodkienė.
As BNS reported, one person died during the storm that raged over the weekend, four others were injured, and electricity supply was disrupted for more than 268 thousand users.
Due to the storm and significant losses to farmers, the government declared a state-level emergency on Wednesday.
