While most districts of Almaty and the region remained without electricity, the Almaty Arbat had power restored just an hour and a half after the massive outage began. However, not all facilities in the area were reconnected, reports infohub.kz.
Residents of the district were luckier than others: on Gogol, Panfilov streets and Zhibek Zholy Avenue (commonly known as the Arbat), electricity returned fairly quickly, but not for everyone. At the Zhibek Zholy metro station, people gathered hoping to get home soon, but a police officer at the entrance told a correspondent that it was unknown when the station would open. Traffic jams formed on the streets, and getting home was likely only possible on foot.
New trolleybuses continue to run along Gogol Street even without electricity, thanks to their built-in batteries. The Meloman store, located a hundred meters away on Gogol, has no power, and polite young staff warn that only cash payments are accepted. The cafe in the same annex has electricity, as does the Yubileyny grocery store, which accepts both cash and card or QR payments.
TSUM on Zhibek Zholy is also fully operational: after a quick power restoration, brisk trade in phones continues, while the cosmetics store remains without electricity. The Magnum store on the basement floor of TSUM operates as usual.
Currently, the Arbat district is functioning and living as usual: residents have electricity and cold water, but hot water is still unavailable. The massive outage in Almaty disrupted plans for hundreds of thousands of people but also pushed aside many signs of human bustle. Almaty residents seem to have found time to think about more global things and remember that it's wise to have cash on hand.
Electric scooters also proved their worth—they remained the only efficient means of transport, albeit heavily restricted, while the city was stuck in giant traffic jams due to non-working traffic lights. Earlier, the causes of the power outage in Almaty and the region were reported.