On Thursday, the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, adopted amendments to the Energy Law in the second and final reading, requiring certain petrol stations to implement measures ensuring business continuity, including alternative electricity supplies, telecommunications and continued access to fuel.
Under the amendments, fuel retailers operating petrol stations that meet specified business continuity criteria will be required to introduce measures allowing them to continue operating during electricity outages or disruptions to electronic communications services.
These measures will include alternative power supplies and backup communication systems necessary to ensure that fuel can still be dispensed when conventional infrastructure is unavailable.
The Cabinet of Ministers will determine which petrol stations must comply with the new requirements, as well as the specific continuity measures, implementation procedures and deadlines.
The government must adopt the relevant regulations by the 28th of February 2027.
The overall deadline for meeting the requirements established by the law is 30 June 2028, although the Cabinet will have the authority to introduce earlier compliance deadlines for certain groups of operators.
Gatis Titovs, a representative of the Latvian Fuel Traders Association (LDTA), previously told a meeting of the Saeima’s Economic, Agricultural, Environmental and Regional Policy Committee that providing a generator for a single petrol station could cost approximately 30,000 to 50,000 euros.
Consequently, equipping 100 petrol stations with generators could require investments of between three million and five million euros.
Additional expenses would arise from the installation of backup telecommunications systems.
According to Titovs, installing a Starlink satellite internet solution at one petrol station could cost approximately 1,700 euros, excluding other implementation expenses and ongoing subscription fees.
The Latvian Fuel Traders Association expressed support in principle for strengthening the operational resilience of petrol stations.
However, it urged policymakers not to rush into establishing specific requirements and deadlines before determining exactly which stations would be affected.
The Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LTRK) also supported the objective of ensuring that petrol stations remain operational during emergencies.
At the same time, the organisation stressed that the costs of mandatory measures and the possibility of state financial assistance should be assessed before introducing new obligations.
It also called for the requirements to be coordinated with existing regulations governing critical infrastructure.
As previously reported by LETA, the issue of maintaining fuel supplies during power outages and telecommunications disruptions gained renewed attention following a storm in August.
During the storm, electricity and electronic communications failures in several parts of Latvia made it impossible for residents to purchase fuel at affected petrol stations.
Major fuel retailers, including Virši-A, Viada Baltija, Circle K Latvia and Neste Latvia, have warned that installing generators and satellite internet systems throughout their petrol station networks would require substantial investment.
The companies argued that requiring every petrol station to install such infrastructure without state co-financing would impose a disproportionate financial burden on the industry.