Residents of Chechnya spoke about regular power outages contrary to the schedules.

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Planned power outages lasting more than four hours this summer affected all 15 districts of Chechnya and three cities of republican significance. Local residents claim that actual outages occurred more frequently than the published schedules.

As reported by “Caucasian Knot”, in early September, residents of Grozny complained about regular power outages throughout the summer.

Residents spoke about outages outside the schedules

This summer, "Chechenenergo" regularly published schedules for planned power outages due to repair and maintenance work. An analysis of these messages showed that outages lasting four hours or more affected all districts of the republic, and in a number of settlements, they were repeated multiple times. Residents indicate that the published schedules do not reflect all cases of power outages.

Residents of Chechnya interviewed by a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot" reported that when cutting off the power, the energy workers did not always adhere to the schedules. The survey is not representative and reflects only the private opinions of the respondents.

No one looks at their websites, we just wait for the outages at any moment

A resident of Grozny Isabella reported that electricity in her area is cut off almost daily this summer, and along with the light, water also disappears. "In Grozny, the light goes out every day. I live on the seventh floor, and along with the light, the water is cut off. It is impossible to call this a city. Every minute you are afraid to go take a shower because the water might be turned off. No one looks at their websites, we just wait for the outages at any moment," she said.

According to another resident of Grozny Mareta, she does not remember such frequent power outages. For her family, the lack of light is especially complicated because she cares for a sick child and works from home. "For me, the main problem is the elevator and the internet. I have a sick child, I am tied to him around the clock, so I work online, at home. I cannot take the child outside without the elevator, going for groceries and carrying bags is also difficult. During power outages, work also stops because there is no internet. Mobile internet due to all the blocks hardly works, at home at least with a VPN you can sometimes access something," she explained.

According to Mareta, there have never been such frequent outages as this summer. She suggested that one of the reasons might be the intensive construction in her area. "In my memory, this has never happened. I think the construction around is also affecting it. Perhaps because of them, the light is turned off so often," she said.

A resident of the Gudermes district Aset reported that in the village where her elderly parents live, the outages are even longer. "My parents in the village in the Gudermes district have no electricity for days, they turn off the power every day. They are elderly people. Neither household appliances, nor refrigerator, nor television - nothing works for them," she said.

We somehow got used to it, we don’t close the store because of this

Prolonged outages also create problems for businesses. Entrepreneur Adam reported that due to the lack of electricity, he has to use autonomous power sources. "They turn off the power, but not for a whole day. We somehow got used to it, we don’t close the store because of this. Somewhere we connect diesel generators to keep the refrigerators running. Of course, this is an additional expense because fuel is expensive now," he said.

Using generators allows the store to continue operating and keep products in the refrigerators, but it makes each prolonged outage an additional expense, the entrepreneur explained.

Hours-long outages affected all districts of Chechnya

In Chechnya, there are three cities of republican significance - Grozny, Argun, and Gudermes - and 15 districts. An analysis of the published schedules by "Chechenenergo" for the summer showed that planned outages lasting four hours or more affected all these administrative-territorial units.

The schedules included the Achkhoy-Martan, Vedeno, Grozny, Gudermes, Itum-Kali, Kurchaloy, Nadterechny, Naursky, Nozhai-Yurt, Sernovodsky, Urus-Martan, Shali, Shatoi, Sharoisky, and Shelkovsky districts, as well as Grozny, Argun, and Gudermes.

At the same time, in a number of settlements, hours-long outages were not singular but repeated throughout the summer.

Already in early June, "Chechenenergo" announced seven-hour outages. For example, on June 6 from 09:00 to 16:00, electricity was planned to be cut off in part of Urus-Martan and the Assinovskaya stanitsa, and on June 8 for the same period in Gehi-Chu, Shalazhi, and part of Gehi. On June 7, a five-hour outage was planned in part of Grozny.

On June 19, part of Grozny was subjected to an outage for about five hours. On June 20, a seven-hour outage was planned in part of Urus-Martan and Martan-Chu, and an eight-hour outage in the Nozhai-Yurt district and in the villages of Belgatoy, Dargo, Tazen-Kala, and the Barze farm in the Vedeno district.

The next day, a seven-hour outage was planned in the Itum-Kali and Sharoisky districts. On June 22, electricity was planned to be cut off for six hours in the Mineralny farm of the Nadterechny district, and for seven hours in part of Gudermes and Urus-Martan.

On June 27, seven-hour outages were planned in several districts. In the Nozhai-Yurt district, the schedule included Gurzhi-Mokhk, Koren-Benoy, Benoy-Vedeno, Benoy, Gendergen, Zandak-Ara, Bulgat-Irzu, Sterch-Kerch, Dengi-Yurt, Alkhany-Khutor, Ozhi-Yurt, Osi-Yurt, Lema-Korts, Shira-Bena, Akhi-Chu, and Pachu. For seven hours, electricity was also planned to be cut off in Gehi-Chu and Shalazhi of the Urus-Martan district, Agishtakh of the Shali district, and the Vedeno district.

On June 29, outages for about seven hours were announced in the Achkhoy-Martan district - in Achkhoy-Martane, Samashki, Bamute, Davidenko, and Novy Sharo, - as well as in the Sernovodsky district. On the same day, seven-hour restrictions were planned in Goity, the Michurina settlement, Martan-Chu, and part of Urus-Martan.

For eight hours, Oiskhara, Lower Noibera, Koshkeldy, Upper Noibera, Gordali, and Ishkhoi-Yurt of the Gudermes district, as well as Bachi-Yurt of the Kurchaloy district, were to remain without electricity.

Outages continued in July

In July, prolonged outages also covered different parts of the republic. On July 4, a seven-hour outage was announced in part of Urus-Martan, the Michurina settlement, and Martan-Chu. On July 6, part of the Kirov settlement in Grozny was to remain without electricity for eight hours, while part of Shali, Urus-Martan, and settlements in the Gudermes district were to be without power for seven hours.

On July 11, seven-hour restrictions were planned in Goisk and Novye Atagi, and eight-hour ones in Kargalinovskaya. On July 13, electricity was planned to be cut off for six hours in part of Avturov, and for seven hours in Goy-Chu, Assinovskaya, Sharoisky, Itum-Kalin, and part of the Shatoi district.

On July 18, seven-hour outages affected the territories of the Nozhai-Yurt, Urus-Martan, and Shali districts, including part of Shali, Alkhany-Yurt, Galayty, Mesketi, Novozamay-Yurt, Zamay-Yurt, Betti-Mokhk, and Sogunty.

On July 20, an eight-hour outage was planned in part of Grozny, as well as in the territories of the Shelkovsky district and the Argun urban district.

In August, restrictions continued until the end of the month

In August, hours-long outages continued. On August 4, the outage in Gudermes lasted about four hours, in Argun - about seven hours. On August 5, electricity was planned to be cut off for about seven hours in part of Urus-Martan, Starye Atagi, Krasnopartizanskoye, and Alkhany-Yurt.

On August 8, part of Urus-Martan was again included in the seven-hour schedule. On August 10, the same interval was set for Martan-Chu and part of Urus-Martan, while Yubileynoye, Levoberezhnoe, and Novoterye of the Naursky district were planned to be cut off for eight hours.

On August 17, part of Grozny was included in the schedule for seven and a half hours, and on August 18, in another part of the city, electricity was planned to be cut off for seven hours. On August 19, seven-hour restrictions were again announced in part of Grozny, Urus-Martan, and Mesker-Yurt.

On August 20, a seven-hour outage was planned in part of Grozny and the Grozny district. The list included, in particular, the village of Abuzar Aydamirov, the Old settlement, Neftemaysk, Podgorny, Turbina, Zagriazsky, Butenko, Proletarskoye, Sadovoye, Druzhnoe, Pobedinское, Dolinsky, Raduzhnoe, Elevator, and Pervomayskaya.

On August 22, a six-hour outage was planned in part of Gudermes and Dzhalki, a seven-hour one in Krasnopartizanskoye, part of Alkhany-Yurt, part of Shali, Avturakh, Germenchuk, Serzhen-Yurt, and Benoy.

On August 24, hours-long restrictions again affected Grozny. Depending on the territory, electricity was planned to be cut off for six, seven, or eight hours. Among the territories included in the schedule were the settlements of Dashi Akaeva, Solenaya Balka, Gazgorodok, part of the town of Dadin Aibiki, the village of Abuzar Aydamirov, Neftemaysk, Podgorny, and Turbina. Schools, clinics, and hospitals were also included in the outage zone.

On August 25, part of the Visaitovsky district of Grozny was again included in the eight-hour schedule.

On August 27, seven-hour outages were planned in part of Serzhen-Yurt and Mesker-Yurt, part of Argun and Urus-Martan, as well as in Upper Noibera and Gordali.

On August 28, the seven-hour schedule covered a significant part of Grozny and the Grozny district. The list included Nagornoye, Kerla-Yurt, Maisky, Pervomayskaya, Pobedinское, Dolinsky, Raduzhnoe, Proletarskoye, Druzhba, Sadovoye, and several urban settlements. The restriction zone also included several schools, a gymnasium, clinics, and a hospital.

On August 29, another seven-hour outage was planned in Urus-Martan and Starye Atagi, as well as in part of Germenchuk. On August 31, part of Grozny was included in the outage schedule from 09:00 to 17:00.

Urus-Martan regularly appeared in the schedules

One of the most frequently mentioned settlements in the published schedules was Urus-Martan. Hours-long planned outages were announced there on June 6, 20, 22, 26, and 29, and then repeatedly continued in July and August. Only in August, the city was included several times in the seven-hour outage schedules.

Prolonged restrictions were also repeatedly announced in Shali and settlements of the Shali district, Gudermes and the Gudermes district, as well as in Grozny and settlements of the Grozny district.

The published messages about planned outages lasting four hours or more cover the entire summer period - from June to the last day of August. They affected all 15 districts of Chechnya and all three cities of republican significance, and within them - more than 100 settlements.

In most of the analyzed schedules, the duration of outages ranged from six to eight hours, but there were also longer intervals. At the same time, "Chechenenergo" warned that the schedules could be adjusted and supplemented.

"Chechenenergo" explained the planned restrictions by the need for repair and maintenance work on substations, power lines, and other facilities of the power grid. The company indicated that cutting off electricity is necessary for the safety of specialists during the work.

However, residents' accounts show that the problem is not limited to the published schedules. Residents of Grozny and the Gudermes district interviewed by "Caucasian Knot" speak of more frequent outages, including daily ones, as well as simultaneous interruptions in water supply and internet. Prolonged outages create additional difficulties for families with children and elderly people, hinder working from home, and force entrepreneurs to spend on fuel for generators.

Let us remind you that on September 18-20, elections for the head of the republic will be held in Chechnya. Ramzan Kadyrov, running again for this position, received 99.7% of the votes in the 2021 elections; critics of the Chechen authorities pointed to administrative resources and violations during the voting. The current campaign is taking place against the backdrop of a contrast between Kadyrov's statements about the development of Grozny and the problems of urban infrastructure. Thus, on March 24, while inspecting construction sites in the capital, Kadyrov stated that "Grozny is confidently moving forward," strengthening its position "as one of the most beautiful and well-equipped cities in the North Caucasus." The authorities of Grozny also emphasize the high ratings of the city in Russian rankings. Thus, in the section "Awards of Grozny" on the city administration's website, it is stated that according to the urban environment quality index, Grozny is named the leader among large cities with a population of 250 thousand to 1 million people, and according to a study by the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, it ranked third among cities with a population over 250 thousand in terms of quality of life by the end of 2025. At the same time, this summer, residents of different districts of the city regularly reported hours-long power outages, in some cases lasting several hours.

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