Pārogre residents without power for over 58 hours, criticize lack of information from municipality

Frustration is growing on social media among residents of Pārogre, near Ogre, over an extended power outage and what they describe as confusing, contradictory communication from local authorities.

Resident Zanda described her situation on Facebook, saying her household has been without electricity for roughly two days and ten hours. She acknowledged the scale of storm damage and the limited workforce available for repairs, but criticized conflicting statements from officials: the head of the municipal council reportedly promised on social media that power would return the previous evening, while the council's official phone line could offer no clear answers on timing.

After calling grid operator Sadales tīkls directly, Zanda learned that a damaged high-voltage line had caused the outage. That line was repaired the day before, allowing crews to begin work in her specific area only on Tuesday. Completion is planned for Thursday, though the pace of progress remains uncertain.

Zanda expressed disappointment that the Ogre municipality has not kept residents properly informed, noting that Pārogre is no longer just a small garden-plot district. She said her family, including children, is currently staying with relatives, food is spoiling in their refrigerator, and neighbors are drawing water from a nearby stream for toilet use while living without light or heat.

Wider storm damage

On Saturday, August 22, and into the following night, Latvia was hit by its strongest summer storm in recent decades, with wind gusts locally exceeding 30 meters per second. The storm initially cut power to about 277,000 customers nationwide. By Tuesday morning, roughly 31,000 customers remained without electricity, with the worst-affected areas being Ogre and Ogre municipality, along with Aizkraute, Preiļi, Rēzekne, Jēkabpils and Bauska municipalities. The State Fire and Rescue Service had received over 3,300 storm-related calls by Tuesday morning.