Power Outage Hits Bishkek and Chui Region

A widespread power outage on June 18 brought Bishkek and parts of the Chui region to a halt, affecting schools, hospitals, administrative buildings, and residential areas, Orda.kz reports.

According to Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Energy, the outage was caused by a malfunction at a substation. The specific details have not yet been disclosed.

City residents reported that the electricity first weakened before going out completely. The blackout hit not only central districts — including the TsUM area and Erkindik Boulevard — but also residential neighborhoods such as “Dzhal” and the “eighth” micro-district.

Many were left without electricity and water, with some people reportedly trapped in elevators.

The outage also affected border infrastructure. Media outlets reported that several checkpoints between Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan were temporarily closed.

Later, the Ministry of Energy announced that electricity had been partially restored.

A Ministry representative said that power supply had returned to most districts in Bishkek and the Chui region, describing the blackout as short-term and attributing it to technical issues.

Original Author: Ruslan Loginov