Kazakhstan Denies Role in Uzbekistan Blackout Amid Regional Power Failure

Kazakhstan's Ministry of Energy has refuted reports circulating in Uzbek media that attribute a recent widespread blackout in Uzbekistan to an accident within Kazakhstan's power grid. Several Uzbek publications had claimed that power disruptions across their republic were caused by issues in a "neighboring country's power grid," impacting Uzbekistan's energy system stability.

The ministry explicitly stated that the circulating reports blaming the Kazakh side are untrue. "The information being circulated on certain social media platforms claiming that the power outages in Uzbekistan were caused by an accident in Kazakhstan's power system is incorrect," the ministry emphasized. This denial comes amidst a significant power failure that affected four Central Asian countries: Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan itself.

Massive power outages began on August 14 around 3:00 PM local time, initially impacting Almaty and the Almaty Region in Kazakhstan. Residents reported blackouts, and official data pointed to a failure on 500 kV power lines operated by KEGOC, leading to a load shedding of 300 MW. The disruptions extended beyond Almaty, affecting numerous districts in the Almaty Region and causing significant infrastructure issues, including non-functioning traffic lights, communication disruptions, and traffic jams. The Almaty metro also came to a standstill, with passengers requiring evacuation.

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The information being circulated on certain social media platforms claiming that the power outages in Uzbekistan were caused by an accident in Kazakhstan's power system is incorrect.