Central Asia Blackout
Regional Grid Disturbance Causes Widespread Power Outages Across Central Asian Nations
Key Points
Three 500 kV transmission lines owned by KEGOC were shut down in an emergency, triggering automatic safety protections and cutting about 300 MW of power.
In Almaty, outages affected Bostandyk, Nauryzbay, Auezov and Alatau districts, as well as 10 districts across the Almaty region, with the city’s metro service disrupted.
Data from 2GIS tracked disruptions on central streets in Almaty; key corridors including Abai, Al-Farabi, Raiymbek and Nazarbayev Avenues experienced heavy congestion (reaching 8 on traffic metrics), with Abai Avenue partly closed near the Central Stadium for a Kanye West concert.
In Uzbekistan’s Surkhandarya region, electricity had been restored to about 80% of consumers by 4:32 p.m., as crews continued staged recovery across affected areas.
The outage highlights the interconnected Central Asian power system; officials describe it as a regional disturbance rather than isolated local faults, a pattern echoed by a similar large-scale outage in January 2022.
A major power outage swept across Central Asia on August 14, hitting Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan at the same time. The blackout knocked out electricity to millions of people, shut down metro systems, and snarled traffic in several major cities, according to Times of Central Asia.
Authorities described the event as a regional grid disturbance rather than a local fault. Restoration crews worked in stages to bring power back, but investigations into the exact cause were still ongoing, Qazinform reported.
Three High-Voltage Lines Trip, Cutting 300 MW Instantly
The cascade began when three 500 kV transmission lines owned by KEGOC — Kazakhstan's national grid operator — shut down in an emergency. That triggered automatic safety systems inside the Alatau Zharyk Company network. The result: a sudden loss of about 300 megawatts of power, according to Qazinform.
Uzbekistan's Energy Ministry said the failure originated in a neighboring country's grid. Media reports pointed to Tajikistan as a possible source. The interconnected nature of the Central Asian power network meant the disruption jumped borders almost instantly, Russia Tourism News reported.
Almaty Hit Hard: Metro Halted, Traffic Grinds to a Stop
In Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city of about 2.37 million people, the outage struck Bostandyk, Nauryzbay, Auezov, and Alatau districts. Ten districts across the wider Almaty region also lost power. The city's metro suspended all train service and closed its stations, Qazinform reported.
With traffic signals dark, key roads seized up fast. Data from 2GIS tracked congestion on central streets, with Abai, Al-Farabi, Raiymbek, and Nazarbayev Avenues all hitting a score of 8 on traffic metrics. Abai Avenue was partly closed near the Central Stadium for a Kanye West concert, adding to the gridlock, according to Times of Central Asia.
Bishkek and Dushanbe Darkened, Uzbekistan Mostly Restored
The blackout reached beyond Kazakhstan. Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan's capital, and Dushanbe, Tajikistan's capital, both reported outages, showing just how tightly linked the region's power systems are, Times of Central Asia reported.
Uzbekistan moved fastest on recovery. In the country's Surkhandarya region, crews had restored electricity to about 80% of consumers by 4:32 p.m. Restoration was carried out in stages across all affected areas, Russia Tourism News noted.
A Familiar Pattern: Central Asia's Grid Has Failed Before
This outage echoes a large-scale blackout that struck the same region in January 2022. That event also spread across multiple countries at once through the shared grid. Officials then, as now, described it as a regional disturbance rather than a single local fault.
The back-to-back events expose a long-standing vulnerability. Central Asian countries share a Soviet-era power network built for a different era. When one link breaks, the whole system can feel it, Times of Central Asia reported.
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