# Toktogul Hydropower Shutdown Triggers Regional Blackout Across Central Asia
**BISHKEK:** The shutdown of two hydropower generators at Kyrgyzstan’s **Toktogul Hydropower Plant**, with a combined capacity of 600 MW, triggered a major power-system disruption across parts of Central Asia on August 14, causing outages in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
Kazakhstan’s power system operator, KEGOC, said the two generators were taken offline at around **14:37 local time**, resulting in an overload on the North–East–South transmission line.
The disruption caused the southern zone of Kazakhstan to become separated from the country’s Unified Electric Power System and the wider Central Asian Unified Power System, which links Kazakhstan with Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
As a result, electricity supplies were interrupted in several Kazakh regions, including **Almaty, Zhambyl, Turkistan, Kyzylorda and Zhetisu**, while outages were also reported in Karaganda, Ulytau and Abai.
KEGOC said electricity supplies to consumers in Karaganda, Ulytau and Abai were fully restored by **14:47**, followed by restoration in Almaty and Zhetisu at 16:26. Power supplies to Zhambyl, Turkistan and Kyzylorda were restored by 16:34.
The company said a special commission would investigate the cause of the technological incident.
Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy said a sharp change in electricity flows from the Central Asian power system caused a sudden increase in power-system loading, triggering emergency protection mechanisms and resulting in outages in several regions.
KEGOC subsequently began restoration operations, with power gradually returning to affected areas.
### Outages Spread Across Region
The disruption also affected Uzbekistan. The Uzbek Ministry of Energy said an accident in the power system of one Central Asian country had affected electricity networks across the region.
Power outages were reported in **Surkhandarya and several other Uzbek regions**, with energy workers working to restore supplies.
Kyrgyzstan itself also experienced outages, with residents in several districts of Bishkek reporting electricity disruptions from around 15:00 local time.
In Kazakhstan, the outage affected Almaty and surrounding areas, where Alatau Zharyk said several transmission lines—including L-5400, L-5300 and L-5320—were automatically disconnected after the emergency protection system was activated. The amount of disconnected load reached approximately **300 MW**.
The blackout also disrupted daily life in Almaty, where traffic lights stopped functioning and caused significant traffic congestion.
Tajikistan was also affected, with outages reported in **Dushanbe, Kulob, Khujand, Vahdat, Nurek, Hisor, Shahrinav and Rogun**, among other locations.
Authorities across the affected countries said restoration efforts were underway, while investigations were launched to determine the precise cause and sequence of the regional power-system disturbance.
The incident highlights the **interconnected nature and vulnerability of Central Asia’s electricity networks**, where sudden changes in generation or cross-border power flows can rapidly trigger cascading disruptions across multiple countries.
