After overnight storms, around 34,000 households in Czechia were without electricity this morning

After overnight storms, around 34,000 households were without electricity this morning, mainly in the Central Bohemian and Hradec Králové regions. Around midnight, as many as 72,000 supply points were without power, almost exclusively in Central Bohemia. Soňa Holingerová, a spokesperson for ČEZ Distribuce, told CTK. The company will try to restore supplies today, she said.

Around midnight, ČEZ Distribuce reported 40 faults on high-voltage lines. Some had already been repaired, but new ones had occurred. At around 06:00, there were 25 high-voltage faults in the Central Bohemian Region and 12 in the Hradec Králové Region, Holingerová said. At that time, around 24,000 households in Central Bohemia were without power, mainly in the Příbram, Benešov and Prague-West districts. Another 10,000 supply points were without electricity in the Hradec Králové Region, mainly in the Náchod and Rychnov districts.

The outages were caused by fallen trees and lightning strikes on power lines, Holingerová said. Strong winds made it impossible to carry out repairs safely in some places, preventing crews from responding more quickly. ČEZ Distribuce had prepared for the severe storms forecast by meteorologists, the spokesperson said. “We increased the number of workers in the field and at the dispatch centre,” she said.

Another distribution company, EG.D, which covers mainly the south of the country, had around a hundred customers without electricity this morning. “By early morning, we had recorded just four faults on high-voltage lines in the Vimperk and Netolice areas of South Bohemia,” company spokesperson Roman Šperňák told CTK. The company is working intensively to restore supplies, he said.

Severe storms with hail and strong winds moved across Bohemia overnight from the southwest to the northeast. They are expected to threaten Moravia and Silesia today.