Ústí nad Labem Region in Czechia prepares for possible prolonged energy supply disruption

The Ústí nad Labem Region wants to prepare for a possible prolonged interruption to energy supplies. It will check power generators and fuel stocks, and wants to establish the option of connecting to the Pegas radio network. Regional governor Richard Brabec (ANO) said this. Experts are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the rupture of a phase conductor—the cable that carries electricity between power plants and substations—which caused a massive power outage in Czechia on 4 July. It lasted several hours and affected around one million customers, ČEPS spokesman Lukáš Hrabal told ČTK.

The extensive power outage, according to the conclusions of the security council, showed that the Ústí nad Labem Region can cope with a short-term interruption to supplies, but a longer blackout could threaten the provision of essential services. The analysis set out tasks to improve preparedness. One is to check the technical condition of the generators used by hospitals as backup power sources. Other publicly funded organizations, such as residential facilities providing social services, should also become energy self-sufficient in the future.

The second task is to secure fuel supplies. “It turned out that a number of filling stations that were supposed to be ready to operate during a crisis had diesel but no backup power for their pumps. Payment systems also failed. We don’t want to wait for the state on this. We will assess the actual availability of filling stations in crisis mode in each district,” Brabec said.

The final task is to secure an independent means of communication in the event of a mobile network outage. Connecting to the radio network used by the police is being considered. The region plans to seek any available state subsidies to purchase generators or secure communications systems.

The main mechanical cause of the power outage was the rupture of a cable carrying electricity between power plants and substations. The investigation into the cause of the conductor failure is still ongoing, Hrabal said. The transmission system was inspected after the outage. Thermographic inspections found issues on two lines that were non-urgent or recorded for monitoring purposes. Repairs to the issues on line V411 have already been completed, while repairs to line V420 will be carried out during its planned outage. All other thermographic inspections found no issues, the spokesman said.

According to earlier reports from ČEPS, the extensive power outage in Czechia resulted from several failures occurring at the same time. It began with the rupture of a phase conductor, which took the backbone V411 line out of service. The line is used to transmit large amounts of power from power plants and to carry electricity over long distances. Soon afterwards, a unit at the Ledvice power plant in the Teplice area and the large Krasíkov substation in the Ústí nad Orlice area also failed. Due to the heavy load, the dispatcher also switched off line V208, which connects substations.

Under its approved investment plan for this year, ČEPS will spend 11 billion crowns. “We plan to invest 11.9 billion crowns in 2026,” Hrabal said. The Hradec substation near Kadaň is currently being modernized and expanded, with work scheduled for completion in 2032. Once the modernization and expansion are fully complete, Hradec will once again be the largest substation in the Czech transmission system.