Blackout hits four Central Asian countries at once

Power outages struck Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan simultaneously on the afternoon of August 14.

In Bishkek, residents of several districts began reporting power outages around 3 p.m. local time (noon Moscow time), according to the outlet Kaktus.media. Kyrgyzstan’s Energy Ministry stated it was aware of the problem but could not yet identify what had caused it.

Power went out shortly afterward in four districts of Almaty and 10 districts of the surrounding Almaty region, the Kazakhstani news outlet Tengrinews reported. Local energy officials blamed the blackout on an accident involving overhead power lines.

Eyewitnesses said the Almaty metro stopped running, traffic lights went dark, and mobile phone service was disrupted. Water supply was also affected, which the outlet attributed to pumping stations losing power. Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry announced at 3:40 PM Moscow time, approximately an hour after the blackout, that power workers had begun restoring power.

Residents of Dushanbe, along with several other cities and districts in Tajikistan, also reported power outages, the Tajik news outlet Asia-Plus reported. The Ministry of Energy and Water Resources stated it could not yet determine the cause of the blackout but denied that an accident at the Nurek Hydropower Plant, the country’s largest power station, was responsible.

Power outages also hit several regions of Uzbekistan, including the southern Surkhandarya region. Uzbekistan’s Energy Ministry stated the problems stemmed from “an accident in the power grid of a neighboring country.”