Srima Without Power for Over 24 Hours
Residents and business owners in Srima near Vodice criticize HEP ODS for multi-hour power outages during the peak tourist season, causing damages in the thousands of euros.
Residents and business owners in Srima near Vodice criticize HEP ODS for multi-hour power outages during the peak tourist season, causing damages in the thousands of euros.
Residents, rental owners, and restaurateurs in Srima near Vodice have been without electricity for more than a day, and this during the height of August. Locals emphasize that such prolonged outages are not an exception but recur every year precisely when tourist traffic is at its peak.
Those who rent out accommodation and run catering establishments are feeling the worst effects. Without power, refrigeration units, air conditioning, and other equipment essential for normal operations are not functioning. Restaurateurs are also facing the inability to properly process fiscal receipts. Some food must be thrown away because the required storage temperature cannot be maintained, and apartment owners are worried about potential refund requests from guests.
"It is shameful that in the 21st century we have to explain to guests paying thousands of euros for accommodation why there is no air conditioning, why food is spoiling in refrigerators, and why fiscalization is not working in restaurants," said residents of Srima for Slobodna Dalmacija. They estimate that the material damage incurred reaches thousands of euros.
Residents reject explanations that attribute the problem solely to increased consumption during the season. They believe that the power grid in the wider Vodice area is overloaded due to rapid construction and the growth in the number of buildings, while necessary investments in infrastructure have not kept pace with this development. Most criticism is directed at HEP Distribution System Operator (HEP ODS), demanding concrete investments in the grid and substations.
"We all regularly pay expensive bills and network charges, and in return we get a system collapse as soon as it gets cold or hot," they stated in their appeal. They also pose a direct question: "Who will compensate for the damage?" They expect answers from those responsible at HEP and the City of Vodice.
The situation is particularly sensitive because the number of people in Srima multiplies several times over during the summer, and all tourist and catering facilities are entirely dependent on a stable power grid. "Tourism is not just sun and sea, but also basic conditions worthy of human beings," warn residents. They add that the continuation of such problems could damage the tourist image of the entire region.
"If this problem is not urgently resolved, next year we won't have to turn off the air conditioning-because there won't be any guests left," they concluded in their appeal to Slobodna Dalmacija.
