According to the head of government, the ESO board will still have to decide on his resignation request.
Sinkevičius spoke about this during Question Time, when Conservative MP Jurgis Razma asked about the consequences of the recent storm.
„Prime minister, as I understand it, you have found scapegoats for the consequences of the storm – namely, the heads of ESO and Ignitis. But isn’t there, after all, a greater responsibility on the part of the government here, and a need for a more effective response in such a situation?“ asked Razma.
Sinkevičius soon said the board would decide the fate of the ESO director on Thursday.
„Indeed, one might think that this was a case of looking for scapegoats or someone to blame. But let me clarify that you are right – the ESO board is meeting at half past four today and will consider the ESO Director-General’s request to be relieved of his duties.
We do not know what the board’s decision will be; the board is free to decide as it sees fit, having assessed the circumstances,“ Sinkevičius stated in the Seimas.
Almost three weeks after the storm that ravaged Lithuania on 22 August, electricity supply has still not been restored to 224 ESO customers, all of whom are in the Utena region, said the company’s spokesperson, Rasa Juodkienė.
„There are still 224 customers without electricity this morning, all of them in the Utena region. The situation is most difficult in the Zarasai district,“ Juodkienė told ELTA on Thursday.
ESO has also received more than 6,400 requests from residents for compensation for direct losses incurred due to the prolonged delay in restoring the electricity supply.
During the storm that recently hit Lithuania, trees were uprooted in many parts of the country; one person was killed, and four others were injured.
At its peak, the electricity supply was disrupted for more than 268,000 ESO customers, and more than 9,000 faults were recorded on the electricity grid.
Because of the storm's consequences and the losses suffered by farmers, the Government declared a national state of emergency.