Minister Tavars: Storm exposed serious gaps in companies' power outage readiness
Latvia's smart administration and regional development minister Edgars Tavars says the recent storm revealed serious shortcomings in how prepared companies, especially mobile operators, are for prolonged power outages. He warned that similar disruptions in winter could cause a real disaster.
A recent storm that left large areas of Latvia without electricity has exposed serious weaknesses in companies' ability to keep operating during prolonged power outages. Minister of smart administration and regional development Edgars Tavars discussed the issue in an interview with Latvian Television's morning show "Rīta panorāma."
The minister specifically highlighted problems with mobile communications and fuel availability. In several towns, no fuel stations were operating after power was lost, while hospitals and police were able to continue working using generators.
Winter could have meant disaster
Tavars admitted that no one had anticipated such widespread power disruptions and the resulting problems with mobile communications. He stressed that if a similar situation had occurred during cold winter weather, the consequences could have been far more severe, amounting to a genuine disaster.
Call for better preparedness
According to the minister, the storm demonstrated that companies, particularly mobile network operators, need to be significantly better prepared for extended power interruptions. He said communications infrastructure should be able to function for at least 72 hours even without a centralized power supply.
Tavars said the state could consider imposing stricter requirements on some companies regarding backup power provisions, while others could be encouraged through various support mechanisms. He noted that fuel retailers and telecom companies already have certain obligations toward the state, but the storm raised suspicions that some of these requirements work better "on paper than in reality."
The minister also praised the work of crews restoring the power grid, emergency services and municipalities during the storm response. Lessons learned from the storm will be examined in more detail by the government's Crisis Management Council.
