Balloon causes power outage in Tashkent

According to the Ministry of Energy, at 19:05, the transformer protection system was triggered at the thermal power plant, after which the facility's capacity decreased from 460 to 185 MW. Preliminary data indicate that transformer T-5 was damaged.

The incident led to temporary power outages in some areas of the Yunusabad, Almazar, Mirzo-Ulugbek and Shaykhantakhur districts of the capital. The Tashkent city electrical networks branch also reported the disconnection of the 110 kV Sokin-2 and Botanika-1 power transmission lines; according to preliminary data, it affected some areas of the Kibray, Tashkent and Yunusabad districts.

Consumers were quickly switched to backup power sources. According to the Ministry of Energy, the power supply was fully restored by 19:38; the city's electrical networks reported that consumers of the Yunusabad, Astronomiya and Limonchi substations were fully connected by 19:54. The department urged citizens to refrain from launching balloons near substations, power plants and other energy facilities.