Austria does not have a finalized uniform nationwide blackout strategy

A All levels of Austrian government have made preparations for a blackout scenario – but they vary in intensity and scope. For example, there is no nationwide information and communication plan for blackout scenarios. This was pointed out by the auditors of the Austrian Court of Audit in their report „Preparation for a blackout scenario“ („Vorbereitung auf den Blackout-Fall“ published today. Audits were conducted at the federal level at the Ministries of the Interior and of Defence, among others; at the provincial level in the province of Styria; and at the municipal level in the town of Feldbach. The ACA recommends regularly reviewing the suitability of the preparatory measures for a blackout scenario and optimising them. The audit period principally covered the years 2018 to 2023.

Uniform definition of blackout for clarity in the event of an incident

A sudden, superregional power outage followed by infrastructure and utility failures: In the event of a blackout, neighbouring municipalities, districts and federal provinces are not supplied with electricity. A blackout must be distinguished from regional power failures or power shortages. In those cases, (external) assistance from areas with power supply is possible. In contrast, during blackouts, neighbouring areas are also without power. In such a scenario, the loss of usual means of communication, such as mobile phones or the internet, must also be expected. Mobility and the supply of everyday goods are also restricted.

From the perspective of the ACA, a consistent and uniform understanding of blackouts is essential in order increase the resilience of public administration in crisis situations. It points out the differences in how the different federal provinces classify events as blackouts with respect to the duration and affected system components. This discrepancy could lead to uncertainty and confusion in the event of an incident and result in an inconsistent response.

Regularly reviewing and optimising preparatory measures

At the time of ACA’s audit, some blackout measures had not yet been fully developed, while others were well advanced or were already being implemented. One commonality in all audited levels of government was the identification of blackout-relevant tasks and the personnel required to perform them. In the province of Styria, for example, each provincial office defines separately which tasks it considers to be relevant in the case of a blackout. The Ministry of the Interior defines these tasks centrally, including for subordinate offices.

In the province of Styria, it is the responsibility of the department heads to designate and assign the necessary qualified personnel. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stipulates that personnel from certain organisational units must report to the central office in Vienna in the event of a blackout.

When selecting the relevant personnel for a blackout scenario, only the employees who are needed to complete the tasks should be deployed – among others, to minimise avoidable traffic flows. Personal circumstances and distance to the place of work should also be considered.

Preparatory measures such as these must therefore be reviewed at regular intervals to ensure their suitability and optimised through interministerial cooperation and exchange with other levels of government. It is also important to regularly reassess tasks deemed relevant in the event of a blackout.

Austria-wide blackout strategy and predefined communication channels are pending

The National Crisis and Disaster Management (Staatliche Krisen- und Katastrophenschutzmanagement, SKKM) is responsible, among other things, for cooperation and coordination of measures relating to disaster prevention, response and management.

In December 2022, the SKKM Coordination Committee set up a special working group with the aim of developing a blackout strategy. This group included representatives from the federal provinces, federal ministries and other entities, such as emergency services and the media. In addition to the inconsistent definition of what constitutes a „blackout“, internal communication within the agencies and the communication channels also varied from province to province.

The ACA recommends that responsibilities and communication channels be defined in advance to prevent time loss in a disaster situation. The guidelines and regulations should be applied automatically, without further decision-making.

Ensuring adequate (crisis) communication systems

To date, Austria has not conducted a nationwide exercise on communication in a crisis. An exercise centred on this topic is essential for the event of a blackout in order to avoid uncoordinated and contradictory communication in a crisis situation.

 However, as part of the work of the SKKM Coordination Committee, steps and measures have already been taken to establish crisis-resistant communication systems that would function also in the event of a blackout. The functionality of the relevant (crisis) communication systems should be guaranteed, at least for the expected period of time to restore the power supply.

Insights from the measures implemented by the municipality of Feldbach

Feldbach is the fifth largest town in Styria and a pioneer in blackout preparedness at the municipal level. The municipality implemented most of its extensive, scientifically supported preparedness measures by September 2023.

These include: strengthening the preparedness of the residents, setting up eleven emergency power-supplied self-help stations within walking distance and spread across the entire municipal area; ensuring the functionality of infrastructure and relevant establishments; securing fuel supplies through an emergency-powered petrol station; and ensuring communication and information.

In the opinion of the ACA, these are suitable measures for increasing Feldbach’s resilience in the event of a blackout. Using the municipality as an example, the ACA emphasises that resilience achieved at the individual level in the event of a blackout can strengthen the resilience of the next level. Therefore, the insights from the measures implemented by the municipality of Feldbach should be taken into account throughout Austria.