Georgia suffered its third nationwide power outage in two weeks on Wednesday evening, disrupting transport networks, cutting water supplies in some areas and reigniting concerns about the stability of the country's electricity infrastructure.
The blackout struck at around 20:00 local time, leaving major cities, including the capital, Tbilisi, without electricity. Metro services in Tbilisi were suspended, trains were halted, and parts of Tbilisi and the nearby city of Rustavi experienced water supply disruptions as critical infrastructure lost power.
Electricity was later fully restored, according to Georgia's State Electrosystem.
Authorities have linked the latest outage to testing being carried out at the Enguri hydropower plant, Georgia's largest electricity-generating facility.
Giorgi Pangani, an official with the commission overseeing the country's electricity and water utilities, said the tests were intended to identify weaknesses in the power grid following two previous nationwide outages last month.
According to Pangani, the latest blackout occurred during the testing process, although he stressed that the exact cause remains under investigation.
The Enguri plant plays a crucial role in Georgia's energy system and supplies a significant share of the country's electricity.
The government's explanation has not convinced everyone.
Energy analysts and opposition figures have questioned how testing at a single facility could trigger a complete collapse of the national power grid. Critics note that although Enguri is Georgia's largest power station, it does not generate all of the country's electricity.
They also point to the repeated nature of the outages. Protection systems designed to isolate technical failures and prevent wider disruptions reportedly failed during all three recent incidents, raising questions about whether deeper structural problems exist within the grid.
The recurrence of similar failures within such a short period has fuelled debate over whether technical faults alone can explain the scale of the disruptions.
The outages have also sparked political speculation.
Some analysts have suggested Georgia's energy system could be vulnerable because of the complex ownership and operational arrangements surrounding parts of the country's infrastructure.
Others see the repeated blackouts as a possible warning sign linked to Georgia's increasingly pro-European aspirations. However, no publicly available evidence has been presented to support claims of deliberate interference.
The latest outage comes as authorities continue to investigate the causes of the previous blackouts. A formal investigation into possible sabotage linked to the earlier incidents has reportedly been opened, adding further significance to Wednesday's nationwide outage.
For now, officials maintain that technical testing remains the most likely explanation. However, with three nationwide outages occurring in just 10 days, attention is shifting from the immediate disruption to a broader question: whether Georgia is experiencing a series of unusual technical failures or something more serious affecting one of the country's most critical systems.
The outcome of the ongoing investigations is likely to determine whether concerns over infrastructure weaknesses, maintenance failures or potential external interference continue to grow in the weeks ahead.
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