“At this point, it is very difficult to estimate losses suffered by companies in the consumer sector in the Moscow region, with few big players in the area, which complicates the process of collecting information about the losses incurred by companies operating on consumer markets,” Krokhin said.

So far, only the Paterson retail chain, which claims to have lost over $170,000 during the blackout, said it would take the case to court. General director Yuri Yakovchik said the company had suffered significant losses both in terms of revenue and spoilt products. “After we have determined the amount of damage and it becomes clear who is responsible, we will file a lawsuit,” he said. Seventeen of Paterson’s 23 Moscow stores were closed on Wednesday and Thursday because of the blackout, with each of the seventeen closed stores losing an estimated $10,000.

But most of Moscow’s companies find it difficult to estimate the amount of damage at this point, and not all of them are considering going to court. Alla Zabrovskaya, representing IKEA Russia, said her company would not disclose the amount of losses caused by the blackout. She said she would not comment on possible lawsuits against power suppliers. But parent company IKEA is calculating losses in connection with the incident. An IKEA store in southern Moscow did not close on Wednesday, switching to its backup energy resources, but clients were unable to visit a restaurant in the IKEA center and a children’s room.

Anna Zaitseva, speaking for the Seventh Continent retail chain, uniting 86 stores, said the company was calculating its damages, after which it would decide on measures to compensate them. Some of the group’s stores in Moscow had to close because of the power failure on Wednesday, she said, adding that a total of 30 stores were affected.