Kazakhstan's Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov has dismissed any link between American rapper Kanye West's concert and the massive power outage in Almaty, according to infohub.kz.
At a government briefing, the minister noted that the outage affected 600 MW, far exceeding the power consumption of any concert equipment. For comparison, the Atyrau oil refinery consumes about 90 MW. He said the stage equipment used at the show consumes no more than 5-20 MW, so it could not have affected the stability of the southern region's power grid.
"I completely rule out any impact from Kanye West's equipment, and any external influence whatsoever," Akkenzhenov stressed. He added that an accident occurred, and a special commission will determine its causes.
The Energy Ministry will set up a commission to investigate the incident, which will determine why the outage happened and how the grid behaved. Additionally, the joint Central Asian coordination dispatch center, responsible for dispatching power systems in Central Asia, will conduct its own analysis.
"So, to answer your question, no singer's equipment affects the outages," the minister concluded.
Recall that on August 14, a large-scale power outage occurred in Almaty and the Almaty region. That day, a Kanye West concert was planned in the city, but an hour before the event, the daytime heat gave way to a hurricane and thunderstorm. Wind gusts tore down tents near the stadium where the show was to take place. After a short wait, the audience was told the concert was postponed to the next day. On August 15, the rapper's performance did take place at the Central Stadium in Almaty.