Russia is hit by blackouts: heat and storms are tearing down wires

Power outages of varying magnitude are observed almost everywhere in European Russia. The cause is either heat or bad weather, the arrival of which is largely associated with the scorching heat.

Mass power outages occurred in the Novgorod Region, where 22,000 people in 477 settlements were left without electricity. This was reported on the night of July 13 by the region's governor, Alexander Dronov . According to the latest data, almost 19,000 people in 485 settlements remain without power. An operational headquarters has been organized, and the Novgorod branch of Rosseti North-West has announced a special regime.

"Power outages in the Novgorod region are no longer an emergency, but the norm. They're just enough. It's time to stock up on candles, kerosene lamps, and learn how to make torches. But they don't forget to raise the tariffs every year," one of the subscribers is indignant in the comments under the governor's message.

The cause of the emergency was a storm that brought heavy rain, thunderstorms, strong winds and hail to the region. The roads of the region are littered with trees.

72 power engineering teams are working around the clock. The restoration work is slowed down by difficult terrain, fallen trees and destroyed structures. The situation with accidents is under the control of the prosecutor's office .

“The teams are working in difficult weather conditions, making their way to the power lines through swamps and tree debris,” explained the press service of Rosseti North-West.

The bad weather is not going to give up yet. The Novgorod Center for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring issued a warning about adverse weather conditions on July 13, the Main Directorate of the Russian Emergencies Ministry for the Novgorod Region reported . Showers, thunderstorms, hail, and squally winds of 19-24 m/s are expected in some places. Power engineers will clearly have more work to do after this.

Hurricanes have been raging in the Novgorod region for several days now. On July 11, power engineers announced the restoration of 1,460 km of power lines and the activation of 1,090 transformer substations. Incidentally, in the neighboring Pskov region on the same day, they reported the restoration of 1,920 km of lines and the activation of 1,199 transformer substations. In some places, power lines have to be rebuilt, and access to breaks is off-road.

Problems with power supply due to the recent storm have arisen in the Moscow region. Rosseti Moscow Region reported accidents in the settlements of the Solnechnogorsk and Klin districts in the north of the region. Overnight, power engineers promised to eliminate the consequences of the bad weather. 107 teams are involved in emergency recovery operations, and 303 teams were working on the evening of July 12.

Sunday will be the last day of the heat wave. According to the forecast of the leading specialist of the weather center "Phobos" Mikhail Leus , the air in the capital will warm up to +30 ... +32 degrees, and to +28 ... +33 in the Moscow region. On Monday afternoon, no higher than +30. The head of the forecast center "Meteo" Alexander Shuvalov in an interview with "Novye Izvestia" warned that residents of the capital region are in for another danger - showers, hail, strong winds, and in some places precipitation will be abnormal.

By the way, a "yellow" weather hazard level has been declared in St. Petersburg due to heat, thunderstorms and squally winds on July 13, 14 and 15. On July 13, the air will warm up to +30, on the 14th, there will be showers and hail in places, and wind gusts will reach 19-24 m/s. Thunderstorms are expected in places on July 15.

Not everywhere in European Russia will the heat be replaced by comfortable temperatures. In particular, in the south of the country, where thermometers show above +40 degrees in some places, it will become “cooler” by several degrees, but the scorching heat will remain.

Local accidents are occurring in Krasnodar Krai. As of the evening of July 12, 500 people in several settlements were left without power, the regional operational headquarters reported. Rosseti Kuban reports enhanced monitoring of the operation of energy facilities.

Power outages are also observed in other regions. The high load on power grids and the risk of accidents, including fires, are caused by the heat. Thus, in the Volgograd region on July 13-14, temperatures are expected to reach +41 degrees, in the Rostov region - up to +42. Local residents are advised not to go outside unless absolutely necessary. The south of Russia is among the hottest zones on the planet.

The day before, a correspondent for the RostovGazeta publication measured the temperature of various surfaces on the streets of Rostov at a “modest” +37 – it turned out to be quite possible to get burned upon contact.

In some places, there is a drop in voltage in the network, which causes the equipment to switch off.

Donenergo is recording “technological violations” in power supply networks, but the situation of 2024 is still a long way off.

Let us recall that exactly one year ago, an energy collapse occurred in the southern regions of Russia - more than 2.5 million people were left without electricity during extreme heat.

The blackout was caused by a "series of reasons." A lack of capacity, including due to a failure at the Rostov Nuclear Power Plant, led to large-scale outages. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the power shortage could be due to uncontrolled mining in some regions and called for the necessary decisions to be taken to ensure a stable power supply.

Time will tell whether the necessary decisions were made and whether a repeat of the situation can be avoided or whether we are now witnessing the beginning of a large-scale blackout.