The cause of the malfunction at Georgia's Enguri Hydropower Plant has been identified, and work is underway to correct the error in the plant's automation and emergency protection systems, according to Temur Jinjolia, Director General of Chernomorenergo, the electricity distribution operator in occupied Abkhazia.
Jinjolia said Czech and German specialists were brought in to inspect the Enguri HPP following the nationwide power outages on July 24-25. According to him, the experts were conducting tests on August 6 to identify the fault when the emergency protection system was activated, disconnecting all of the plant's generators from the power grid and triggering another large-scale blackout.
He said the technical issue has now been identified and engineers have started implementing the necessary corrections to the plant's automation and emergency protection systems. Jinjolia expressed hope that once the defect is eliminated, similar incidents will not recur. He also stressed that the blackout occurred due to circumstances beyond Chernomorenergo's control, noting that the company is not involved in the operation of Enguri HPP.
Occupied Abkhazia, which receives its electricity supply from Enguri HPP, was also affected by the nationwide outages recorded on July 24-25 and again on August 6. The blackouts disrupted electricity supply across much of Georgia, halting Tbilisi Metro and Georgian Railway services and temporarily interrupting water supply in parts of the capital after GWP pumping stations lost power.
