Abkhazia left without electricity in the midst of holiday season
Rolling power outages to resume in Abkhazia
The energy crisis in Abkhazia continues as the authorities have decided to resume rolling blackouts for the first time this summer and in the midst of the holiday season. The opposition accuses the authorities of being unable to cope with the crisis.
From 00:00 on June 28, a schedule of restrictions on the electricity supply electricity will be re-introduced in Abkhazia. The Chernomorenergo company said that this is being done to partially save electricity for the winter period.
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The company explains that the load on the power grids in Abkhazia is increasing every year. According to Chernomorenergo, this year the load already exceeds one of the summer last year.
It has been said that a power shortage due to increased loads will lead to rolling blackouts.
The electricity will be turned off for two hours a day at night and in the early morning. Authorities explained that such a schedule was chosen taking into account the holiday season, so as not to cause inconvenience to guests of Abkhazia.
According to the forecasts of power engineers, the flow of electricity from Russia will once again be needed by Abkhazia in November 2021, and now a six-hour blackout will be more suitable.
Causes of the crisis
Abkhazia started receiving electricity from Russia in January 2021 and up until the end of April, when the Ingur hydroelectric power station, the main source of electricity in Abkhazia, went under repairs.
The power plant started working, however, as it turned out, this did not help to finally resolve the energy crisis in Abkhazia, which began even before the shutdown of the station.
Severe problems with the supply of electricity began in the fall of 2020. Its main reason was the uncontrolled mining of cryptocurrencies.
The authorities first legalized mining, which led to increased consumption, numerous accidents on power grids and prolonged blackouts. In early December of the same year, the authorities again banned mining. But it was not possible to cope with the power shortage.
Opposition reaction
“For the first time in the entire recent history of Abkhazia, a rolling blackout in the summer was introduced, which is a direct consequence of the incompetence and adventurous policy pursued by the country’s leadership”, the main opposition party Aruaa made such a statement.
Oppositionists believe that this situation was caused by an ill-considered decision of the government and the president to legalize cryptocurrency mining – “contrary to the opinion of experts, common sense and our warnings”.
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