Power outage forces Straupe dairy and store to run generators

More than 30 hours after a storm-related power outage, the Straupe parish in Cēsis municipality remains without electricity, internet and mobile phone service in some areas, forcing a dairy processing company and a local store to use generators, LSM reported, citing ReTV journalist Laura Jansone.

Storm damage in Vidzeme has been relatively limited compared with other parts of Latvia, although the situation remains more serious in Madona municipality. In Straupe, however, the lack of electricity has become the main challenge for some residents and businesses.

Straupes piens, a dairy processing company, is using a large rented generator to keep production running, said Sandis Veitmanis, a board member of the Straupe dairy farmers cooperative.

“If we had not gone to collect the generator yesterday, nothing would be happening here today,” Veitmanis said. He added that the company had found the supplier online and arranged to collect the generator without a contract after explaining the situation.

The company has its own generator, but it is too small to provide enough power for full production and product storage.

The power outage has also created serious problems for dairy farmers, Veitmanis said. Farmers have been trying to find generators, and he said some local farmers in Straupe had been unable to milk their cows for 24 hours.

The owner of the local store, Māris Šķesteris, is using a standard petrol generator to protect the store’s products. Although the electricity is still off and the cash register is not working, the store remains open.

Šķesteris said the store’s losses were still being calculated and could reach four or even five figures. Meat, sausages and ice cream had been saved at his store, while products at another store had melted because there were not enough generators to protect everything.

Water is the store’s best-selling product, but customers are facing problems because they do not have cash.