Large-scale blackout strikes southern Russia after nuclear plant failure

The power outage affected Rostov-on-Don, Kabardino-Balkaria, Stavropol, and the annexed Crimea. Krymenergo added that shutting down power lines is necessary to minimize the overload on network devices.

The outages affected Sudak, Yalta, Alushta, Theodosia, Kerch, and several other cities. Simferopol and the Simferopol district also experienced power loss.

On the afternoon of July 16, in Krasnodar, more than 100 substations were out of service, and about 100 streets were without power. Trams and trolleybuses in the city were stopped. The failure occurred when the temperature exceeded 104°F.

On Tuesday afternoon, Rosatom's press service informed RIA Novosti of a "large-scale failure." "Automation shut down one of the power units due to problems with the turbogenerator at the Rostov Nuclear Power Plant," the statement reads.

After nearly 24 hours, the unit was reconnected to the grid. Authorities assured that the radiation levels are normal.

The Rostov Nuclear Power Plant consists of four power units and is located near Volgodonsk. It is the largest station in the country's south, with a capacity of 4 GW. The power plant is among the top three in terms of generation in Russia and supplies electricity to the southern regions and the North Caucasus, home to over 26 million people.

Mass power outages have been observed in the Krasnodar region in the last two weeks. The most significant incident occurred on July 9, leaving 325,000 Kuban residents without power. The Ministry of Energy stated that the cause was "high seasonal consumption due to maximum summer temperatures." To avoid overheating, people massively turned on air conditioners and fans, overloading the networks.