The storm caused the largest power outages in the last 20 years

A severe storm hit Latvia on Saturday, causing the country's largest power outages in 20 years, disrupting 46 of AST's 150-plus substations by Sunday morning.

Original report
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Industry impact

The scale of damage highlights the vulnerability of national power grids to severe storms and the multi-day recovery timelines such widespread infrastructure damage can require.

A severe storm that struck Latvia on Saturday evening triggered the largest power outages the country has seen in 20 years, with widespread damage to the grid beginning after 18:00 and continuing into the early hours of Sunday. By 07:00 Sunday, 46 of more than 150 AST substations had been disrupted, five 330-kilovolt overhead lines were damaged, and 44 lines operating at 110 kV were affected, though three of the 110 kV lines had already been restored.

By 22:00 Saturday, outages had spread across a wide area including Olaine, Jaunolaine, Jelgava, Kekava, Madona, Dobele, Livani, Jekabpils, the Augsdaugava and Aizkraukle regions, Viesite, Ludza, Kraslava, Zilupe, Dagda, Ilukste, Subate, and Ugale in the Ventspils region, while power was quickly restored in Jaunpils and its surroundings. As the storm intensified after 22:00, further outages hit Salaspils, Riga, Iecava, the Bauska region, Kegums, Baldone, Ogre, Aizkraukle, Vilana, Varaklani, the Rezekne region, Lubana, Preili, Ieriki, Inčukalns, the Cesis and Sigulda regions, Lielvarde, and Livani.

AST said all available resources would be deployed on Sunday to repair the damage and restore power, working in cooperation with ST. Crews are contending with hazardous conditions including fallen trees blocking access to lines and flooding from heavy rainfall, with damage to the distribution grid mainly caused by trees and branches falling on overhead lines as well as damaged poles and other network elements. AST said that due to the scale of destruction, restoring power for some customers may take several days.