A large-scale power outage in southern regions of Kazakhstan was caused by an emergency imbalance in the interconnected power systems of Central Asian countries. The Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan issued an official statement on the situation, as reported by infohub.kz.
According to the ministry, the incident occurred in the afternoon of August 14, 2026, and immediately affected the stability of the entire unified power system. A sharp surge in power flow triggered emergency automation, leading to the disconnection of some consumers in certain regions.
"On August 14, 2026, an emergency power imbalance occurred in the energy system, caused by a sharp change in power flow from the Central Asian energy system. As a result, emergency automation was activated, leading to the disconnection of some electricity consumers in certain regions," the Ministry of Energy reported.
It was the emergency protection that prevented more severe consequences for the national grid, temporarily cutting off power to several cities and regions in the south, including Almaty and the Almaty region.
Currently, the system operator of the national electric grid, JSC "KEGOC", is carrying out emergency restoration work to gradually restore load and supply voltage to consumers. The ministry assured that the situation is under full control. Detailed information on the progress of the accident response and the exact time of full power restoration will be provided later.
It is worth recalling that Almaty effectively came to a standstill due to power outages. Traffic lights are not working, and there is no water in the taps, apparently due to the shutdown of pumping stations.