A Blackout Occurred In Four Central Asian Countries

A possible cause has been identified.

Media reports indicate that large-scale power outages have begun in Central Asia. On the afternoon of August 14, the flow of electricity to four countries—Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan—suddenly dropped sharply. What is happening in these countries, which have been left without power due to unexplained problems with the grid?

The energy ministers of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan have confirmed the power outages, according to a report by Reuters. Correspondents reported power outages in the largest cities of these Central Asian countries—Almaty (Kazakhstan), Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), as well as Dushanbe and Khujand (Tajikistan). The report also cites data from Uzbek authorities, who specified that power supply issues arose in the southern regions bordering Tajikistan.

The Reuters report explained that power supply issues are a “common occurrence” in Central Asia. It also notes that the region is dominated by hydroelectric power plants, whose operation depends on water, and that climate change affects the amount of water in rivers.

The media outlet Fergana provided additional details about the blackout in Asia. Specifically, it listed the regions of Kazakhstan where power was cut off—the capital, as well as two other regions: Armaty and Zhetisu. The report mentioned a sudden emergency shutdown of three 500-kV high-voltage lines—L-5400, L-5300, and L-5320—owned by KEGOC. It is noted that the outage occurred at 2:38 p.m. local time (12:38 p.m. Kyiv time). The sudden outage affected 300 MW of load. Media outlets reported that traffic lights in Almaty stopped working and traffic jams formed on the roads. In addition, the metro is not operating, and there are problems with mobile communications. It is also noted that in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, the power outage occurred at 3:00 p.m. Meanwhile, it has been reported that in Uzbekistan, power was cut off in one region and several neighboring districts.

“The Central Asian Unified Energy Grid was affected by a failure in the power system of a neighboring country,” the media quoted a statement from Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Energy as saying.

The Central Asian Unified Power System (CAUPS) is a network built during the Soviet era that connects the four countries affected by the blackout on August 14: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The previous large-scale blackout occurred in January 2022: it involved an emergency shutdown of the “North-East-South Kazakhstan” transmission line, the Ministry of Energy reported. Meanwhile, a special report on the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe’s website includes a diagram of this system, which illustrates the close interconnection among the countries of Central Asia.

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