Major blackout hits Crimea
On Friday, 28 July, another blackout hit the annexed Crimea. The blackout was reportedly caused by an accident in Krasnodar Krai in neighboring Russia.
It is reported that there is no power in the cities of Simferopol, Sevastopol, Yalta, Kerch, Feodosiya and other places.
The Russia-controlled Ministry of Fuel and energy of the Crimea also confirms the loss of power throughout the peninsula. According to the Minister Vadim Belik, the Crimea was "completely without electricity" due to an accident in the Kuban oblast of Russia.
"There is a complete power shutdown in the Crimea due to an activation of an emergency control system in Krasnodar Krai", he explained.
According to the Crimean media, all four lines of the power bridge connecting Russia to the annexed Crimea are shut down.
At the same time, the Crimean authorities do not give any estimates as to when the power will be completely restored.
Because of the power outage, the Russian Black Sea Fleet was transferred to the backup power supplies. However, Russian Navy spokesman Vyacheslav Trukhachev stated that the blackout "has no effect on readiness of the Black Sea Fleet".
It is reported that the Kerch Ferry and Simferopol airport continue to function as usual.
The representatives of Simferopol airport reported that there have been do delays with the flights.
The Russian Ministry of Energy said that the cause of Crimean blackout is an abnormal heat in the area. According to the Ministry this lead to an emergency shutdown of the transmission lines.
"The abnormally high air temperatures in the south-western part of Krasnodar Krai caused an emergency shutdown of the 500 kW air line. This lead to a shutdown of 220 kW cable and air line, which is supplying the electricity to the Crimean peninsula,” reported the Russian Ministry of Energy.
Meanwhile, as of 16:00 Kyiv time, Crimean media reported that two lines of the power bridge have been brought up and the power has been partially restored in some areas of the Crimea.
"As of 15:50, the electricity supply to the residents of the peninsula was restored by 80% (about 800 MW)," reported to the Russian ministry.
Since December 2015, the Crimea has not been receiving electricity from mainland Ukraine after the electric support pylons were damaged by Ukrainian activists in the Kherson region. The Crimea is now being supplied through its own power generation and power plants from Russia.