Central Asia hit by major blackout as power systems face disruption
A large-scale power outage hit several parts of Central Asia on Friday, August 14, disrupting electricity supplies in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan and exposing the close links between the region’s power systems.
The disruption was reported almost simultaneously in the four countries, with residents in major cities including Almaty, Bishkek and Dushanbe reporting outages and interruptions.
There were no immediate reports indicating that all five Central Asian countries had lost power. Turkmenistan has not been identified in the reports reviewed as being affected by the incident.
In Kazakhstan, the outage was particularly significant in Almaty and the surrounding Almaty region. Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry said the disruption was triggered by a sudden change in electricity flows from the Central Asian power system, which caused an increase in power entering the national grid and activated emergency protection systems.
The national grid operator KEGOC began restoration work, with the Energy Ministry saying electricity had already been restored in some regions by the time of its statement.
Kazakhstan outage affects Almaty and surrounding areas
Alatau Zharyk Company said an emergency disconnection of three 500-kilovolt overhead transmission lines operated by KEGOC occurred at 2:38 p.m. local time.
The lines, identified as L-5400, L-5300 and L-5320, triggered emergency protection systems in the Almaty network. The resulting automatic load shedding cut approximately 300 megawatts of demand.
Four districts of Almaty were affected: Bostandyk, Nauryzbai, Auezov and Alatau.
In Almaty region, outages were reported in the Zhambyl, Balkhash, Yesik, Karasai, Shelek, Raiymbek, Uygur, Ili, Kegen and Talgar districts. Energy workers were deployed to restore supplies.
The timing added complications for Almaty, where Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, is scheduled to perform at the Central Stadium on Friday evening. Local reports said the blackout affected traffic signals and businesses in parts of the city, while residents reported congestion after some traffic lights stopped operating.
The outage came as the city was already preparing for large crowds attending the concert.
Outages reported across three other countries
In Kyrgyzstan, residents began reporting electricity cuts in Bishkek from about 3 p.m., with disruptions recorded in multiple central and southern parts of the capital. Reports also emerged from parts of Issyk-Kul region. The National Electric Grid of Kyrgyzstan said it would provide information on the cause of the outage.
Tajikistan also saw interruptions, with reports from Dushanbe and other parts of the country. Residents said electricity disappeared without warning in some areas and had not immediately returned.
Uzbekistan’s Energy Ministry said the country’s disruptions were linked to an accident in the power system of a neighbouring country. The ministry said the incident affected the operation of Uzbekistan’s power network as well as systems in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
Interconnected gridlines
The sequence points to the importance of the interconnected Central Asian power system, where countries can exchange electricity and changes in one part of the network can affect neighbouring systems.
The region experienced a far larger cross-border blackout in January 2022, when power failures affected Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and southern Kazakhstan. That incident disrupted airports, metro systems, telecommunications and other essential services.
Friday’s incident appears to have been more limited in scale, with authorities reporting restoration efforts shortly after the outages began.
As of the latest available statements, officials had not attributed the incident to sabotage or a cyberattack. Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry described it as a technical disruption caused by a sharp change in regional electricity flows, while KEGOC and other operators continued work to stabilise the network.
