GNERC Commissioner: Planned test at Enguri HPP triggered full national grid failure; detailed investigation underway

“Earlier today, Georgian State Electrosystem was conducting planned testing on the generation units of the Enguri Hydroelectric Power Plant. During the test, Georgia’s power grid suffered a complete system collapse. A detailed analysis and comprehensive evaluation of the incident are currently underway,” Giorgi Pangani, a commissioner at the Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission (GNERC), wrote on social media.

According to Pangani, the precise causes of the outage will be established to prevent similar failures in the future.

“I would like to inform you that today, Georgian State Electrosystem was conducting planned testing on the generation units at the Enguri Hydroelectric Power Plant, aimed at identifying and assessing vulnerabilities within the system following the outages of July 24 and 25. As part of this testing, among other measures, the power grid was scheduled to operate in isolated mode. This operational mode carried significant technical risks, including the potential for a complete system collapse. As is now known, during the testing, Georgia’s power grid suffered a complete blackout. At present, a detailed analysis and evaluation of the incident are underway to determine the exact causes of the failure and to prevent any recurrence in the future,” stated Giorgi Pangani.

For context, Tbilisi and the majority of Georgia’s regions are currently without electricity. The power went out at approximately 20:15. Emergency nationwide power cuts previously occurred on July 24 and 25.