Blackout in Georgia

A large-scale blackout that occurred in Georgia and Abkhazia on the evening of August 5, 2026, became the third major energy incident in two weeks and the most severe in its consequences for residents. The metro and railway stopped in Tbilisi, and all settlements in Abkhazia were left without power.

What happened

At 20:10 local time (19:10 MSK), Georgia completely lost its electricity supply. Tbilisi, Batumi, Kutaisi, Rustavi, Zugdidi, Gori, Poti, Telavi, Borjomi, Bakuriani, and other cities went dark, the metro stopped, the railway ceased operations, and all settlements in Abkhazia were left without power ¹.

According to official statements from SEMEK and the company "Black Sea Energy", the cause of the accident was a failure of the emergency automation at IngurHPP. The station was undergoing scheduled stress tests of the equipment with contractors from Germany and the Czech Republic. At the moment of isolation of the power system, the automation disconnected the generators from the common network, causing a cascading failure of the main lines and the collapse of the energy systems of Georgia and Abkhazia ².

The August incident was a continuation of the July accidents. On July 24 and 25, 2026, the country had already experienced two large-scale outages — the first due to the separation of Georgia's power system from Azerbaijan, the second due to an accident on the Imereti power line. After these events, the head of the State Electric System of Georgia, Vano Zardiashvili, resigned ³. The State Security Service of Georgia began an investigation into sabotage after the two large-scale blackouts that occurred in the country on July 24-25 ⁴.

The complete elimination of the consequences of the failure and the launch of basic pumping and compressor stations in the regions took from 2.5 to four hours. Full stabilization of the national power system was completed by the morning of August 6, 2026 ⁵.

Consequences for people

On August 5, 2026, the metro in Tbilisi completely stopped. Trains were stuck in tunnels, passengers were evacuated in conditions of heat and weak emergency lighting, as reported by city telegram channels ⁶. Traffic lights went out instantly on the surface, leading to transport paralysis, multi-kilometer traffic jams, and a sharp increase in taxi fares ⁷. Due to a non-functioning traffic light, a car hit a pedestrian in Tbilisi ⁸. Additionally, people were stuck in elevators and on the cable car ⁹.

Ground transportation of JSC "Georgian Railway" was also blocked — passenger and freight trains were halted on the tracks due to the de-energization of contact lines ¹⁰. Local residents massively complained about problems with mobile communication and mobile internet ¹¹.

The pumping stations of Georgian Water and Power stopped, causing water supply to cease in Tbilisi, Rustavi, and resort areas of Adjara. In extreme heat, the lack of drinking water became the most painful consequence ¹². Residents complained about the inability to cool premises, lack of technical water, and disruptions in household systems ¹³.

Major medical centers were forced to switch to backup diesel generators. Although disruptions in the operation of intensive care units were avoided, the load on autonomous systems was critical ¹⁴.

On the Black Sea coast during the peak season, cafes, restaurants, and shops suffered direct losses: refrigeration units shut down, food spoiled, and tourists left establishments en masse ¹⁵.

In Abkhazia, the situation was similar. According to "Apsnypress", the outage affected Sukhumi, Gagra, Pitsunda, and other resort areas. Hotels switched to generators, tourists left the beaches, and local authorities spoke of an "unprecedented load" on backup capacities ¹⁶.

Official version

The government of Georgia and representatives of "Black Sea Energy" claim that the cause of the accident was exclusively a failure of the imported software for emergency automation ¹⁷. Member of the Commission for Energy and Water Supply Regulation Giorgi Pangani emphasized that the incident occurred at the moment of isolation of the power system when IngurHPP was supposed to operate autonomously ¹⁸.

The State Security Service of Georgia has begun an investigation, examining the version of technical sabotage, but there are no official confirmations of this version. The authorities state that it is a matter of "unforeseen algorithm errors", not external interference. ¹⁹.

Rumors and public resonance

In the Georgian segment of social networks, users reported that Bidzina Ivanishvili's residence on Mtatsminda did not lose power during the blackout. Technical experts explained this by standard automatic reserve input and the presence of powerful private generators ²⁰.

Former President Mikhail Saakashvili stated that the blackout is related to a mining farm allegedly located in the tunnels of IngurHPP, and that its owner is Bidzina Ivanishvili ²¹. The topic of mining has been discussed in society for a long time: local residents and experts talk about "anomalous energy consumption" at the station ²².

However, "Black Sea Energy" and government structures categorically deny any connection between mining and the accident, insisting that the cause was exclusively a failure of the automation and the official version remains unchanged ²³.

Notes

1. Tbilisi and most regions of Georgia were left without electricity // Interfax, 05.08.2026.
2. Power outages in Georgia and Abkhazia occurred due to testing of emergency automation at IngurHPP // Interfax, 06.08.2026.
3. The head of the State Electric System of Georgia resigned after the blackout // Kommersant, 03.08.2026.
4. Large-scale power outages occurred in Georgia and Abkhazia // Kommersant, 24.07.2026.
5. Electricity supply was resumed in Georgia after the third blackout in two weeks // Kommersant, 06.08.2026.
6. https://t.me/paperkartuli/28614
7. Why Georgia experiences regular blackouts during the peak tourist season // Vedomosti, 07.08.2026.
8. https://t.me/paperkartuli/28618
9. https://t.me/paperkartuli/28621
10. The operation of the Tbilisi metro and Georgian railway was disrupted due to a large-scale power outage // https://www.interpressnews.ge, 05.08.2026.
11. Weak link: what led to blackouts in Georgia // Forbes, 11.08.2026.
12. https://t.me/ProGeorgian/33407
13. The blackout in Georgia also left residents without water supply // Rosbalt, 05.08.2026
14. Tbilisi and most regions of Georgia were left without electricity // Interfax, 05.08.2026.
15. Why Georgia experiences regular blackouts during the peak tourist season // Vedomosti, 07.08.2026.
16. https://t.me/mintransenergoabh/520
17. https://t.me/SputnikGeorgia/55652
18. The cause of the blackout in Georgia on August 5 could have been tests at Inguri HPP // Neftegaz.RU, 06.08.2026
19. Weak link: what led to blackouts in Georgia // Forbes, 11.08.2026.
20. A nationwide power outage occurred in Georgia for the third time in two weeks // SOVA, 05.08.2026.
21. Mikhail Saakashvili: Ivanishvili's bitcoins consume more electricity than Tbilisi // Georgia Online, 06.08.2026.
22. Why Georgia experiences regular blackouts during the peak tourist season // Vedomosti, 06.08.2026
23. Power outages in Georgia and Abkhazia occurred due to testing of emergency automation at IngurHPP // Interfax, 06.08.2026.