Rural family prepares to endure prolonged power outage

Nearly 1,000 households in Jēkabpils municipality have been without electricity for more than three days after the storm, LSM reported, citing Vidusdaugavas Television. The Šnore family, who live at the Eglīši homestead in Kūku Parish, had prepared for such a situation and say they could manage without power for much longer.

The family uses a generator, which consumes about 15 litres of diesel for five hours of electricity. “We bought the generator a couple of years ago, thinking that the electricity could go out because we live in the forest. We often have no electricity; this is not the first time, but it is the first time it has lasted so long,” said Sandra Šnore, the owner of Eglīši.

When the family moved from Riga to Kūku Parish in Jēkabpils municipality in 2017, they deliberately kept a well, an outdoor toilet, a sauna and a wood-burning stove. The house also has central heating.

“As long as we can buy fuel, the refrigerator works, we can charge our phones, and there is always water in the well. We can live like this for a long time,” Šnore said.

The family also helped clear fallen trees from the road leading to the homestead so that Sadales tīkls crews could reach the damaged section as quickly as possible.

“The principle of survival in the countryside is different from that in the city,” Šnore said, adding that helping neighbours and others in the same situation had also been important to the family.

Sadales tīkls has said it will fully restore electricity to households affected by the storm by Friday.