International crisis management conference 2024

• Conference title: "Resilient Cities - No Fear of the Dark: preparing for energy shortages together"
• Date: 6 to 8 May 2024
• Location: Vienna City Hall, 1010 Vienna, Rathausplatz 1

From 6 to 8 May 20024 an international crisis management conference was held at Vienna City Hall on the topic: "No fear of the dark - preparing for energy shortages together".

Russia's attack on Ukraine and the still ongoing war is a potential threat to energy supplies in Europe. In Austria, hydroelectric power production makes for a significant part of the energy mix. Taking into account the impact climate change driven events such as droughts and heatwaves, it becomes clear that we need to prepare for possible energy shortages and also blackout scenarios. The Viennese population however has not been confronted with an actual event of lacking electricity, phone coverage or internet in the last decades and is not sufficiently prepared for that scenario. During the conference it became very clear that many other EU cities face the same issues.

Is there a possibility for energy shortages?

The conference therefore aimed to create the possibility of an experience exchange between crisis management stakeholders all over Europe, to define and discuss the role of the public during energy shortages and to evaluate practical examples.

The conference focussed on preparing for energy shortages with specific regard to communicating with a city's population with limited technical possibilities. The issue was addressed by representatives from 17 European cities.

The presentations and discussions of the participants painted a broad picture of the crises that will affect Europe in the coming years. The conference highlighted that external circumstances can sometimes lead to disruptions in the electricity infrastructure.

Examples and problems of recent crises

The examples of the cities of Belgrade (Serbia), Budapest (Hungary) and Ljubljana (Slovenia) show that extreme weather conditions, particularly in the past year, have caused problems with the local electricity supply, but also with other infrastructure such as transport, water and sanitation. Although the events described were limited to a few days, they affected the functioning of the affected regions for weeks.

Examples of a "real blackout" under winter conditions

The importance of a functioning infrastructure in difficult winter weather conditions was demonstrated by the Finnish city of Pori, which also reported a "real" blackout in its region. At the conference, Pori not only presented the risk assessment system from national to local level, but also showed how a four-day winter blackout in the northern part of the city was managed, the lessons learned from which led to a large-scale training event.

The Baltic States of Tallinn and Tartu (Estonia) and Vilnius (Lithuania), which are facing major challenges to their power grids due to changing geopolitical conditions, focused their presentations on ensuring resilient power supply.

Examples of communication with the public

On the other hand, the German cities of Rostock and Düsseldorf, as well as Prague (Czech Republic), presented how to communicate with the public in the event of a blackout. A range of measures were presented, from information buses to social media and information apps available to the public.

Vienna presented the "Light Islands project", which, in cooperation with seven religious communities in Vienna, offers the population "contact points" in the event of a crisis. Specifically, low-threshold locations and volunteers are to be made available to the population in an emergency.

Contact

For questions regarding the conference please contact:

• City of Vienna - Chief Executive Office
• Executive Group for Organisation and Security - Crisis Management and Security
• E-Mail: post-ks@md-os.wien.gv.at