Blackout in Almaty? Power went out in several districts of the city

Tengrinews.kz — Residents in various districts of Almaty are reporting power outages. The disruptions were caused by an emergency shutdown of 500 kV overhead power lines owned by KEGOC JSC.
According to Alatau Zharyk Company JSC, at 2:38 p.m. on August 14, emergency protection systems were triggered following the shutdown of the L-5400, L-5300, and L-5320 500 kV overhead lines owned by KEGOC JSC. The total disconnected load reached 300 MW.
As a result, consumers in Almaty and the Almaty Region experienced power outages.
Affected areas
Official data indicates that power supply has been cut for consumers across the city of Almaty and the Almaty Region.
The total load shed by the automatic power-down system amounted to 300 MW.
In the Almaty Region, power outages have been reported in the following districts:

Zhambyl;
Balkhash;
Esik;
Karasay;
Shelek;
Raiymbek;
Uyghur;
Ile;
Kegen;
Talgar.

Specialists from Alatau Zharyk Company JSC are currently working to restore power supply to affected consumers.
Current situation in the city
Notably, technical issues were observed in Almaty approximately two hours before the full blackout. Readers reported frequent flickering and intermittent power losses lasting several seconds.
Currently, traffic lights are down across the city and communication services are experiencing disruptions. Massive traffic jams formed instantly, and traffic controllers have been deployed to major intersections.
Photo: Tengrinews.kz.
Eyewitnesses also report that the metro system has ceased operations, with station entrances closed to passengers.
Photo: Tengrinews.kz.
Photo: Tengrinews.kz.
Furthermore, Almaty residents are reporting water supply disruptions. This is likely due to the de-energization of pumping stations.
Potential water outages
Almaty Su warned that water delivery to residential buildings is directly dependent on pumping stations, which require a stable power supply. Without electricity, the equipment cannot operate normally.
Power restoration begins in some districts
As of 4:15 p.m., power restoration has begun in certain parts of Almaty. Specifically, readers report that electricity is back in Kalkaman, the 10th Microdistrict, Orbita, and near the Mega mall on Rozybakiev Street. However, some areas reportedly lost power again shortly after restoration.
Blackout affects neighboring countries
It later emerged that the power outage was more widespread than initially thought. Residents of neighboring Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have also begun reporting disruptions.
According to Kaktus.media, starting from 3:00 p.m., residents across various districts of Bishkek and its surrounding region began reporting mass outages. Complaints are coming from the center of the Kyrgyz capital, the Alamedin-1 microdistrict, major shopping malls, suburban villages, and the Issyk-Kul Region.
Tajikistani media outlets are also reporting mass outages. According to Asia-Plus, at approximately 3:15 p.m., residents of Dushanbe, Khujand, Kulob, Vahdat, Nurek, and several other cities and districts lost power almost simultaneously.
Ministry identifies the cause
The Ministry of Energy explained that on August 14, 2026, the national grid experienced a power surge caused by a sudden change in electricity flow from the Central Asian power system. This triggered emergency protection protocols, resulting in temporary power cuts for consumers in several regions.
The ministry added that KEGOC is "conducting the necessary restoration work," and power has already been restored in a number of regions.

Read also: “Did Kanye cut the power?”: What Kazakhstanis are joking about amid the Almaty blackout