Georgia launches sabotage probe after two nationwide blackouts

Georgia experienced two major nationwide power outages on July 24 and July 25, 2026. The first blackout struck shortly after midnight on July 24, affecting Tbilisi, Batumi, Kutaisi and many other cities. A second outage occurred around 08:00 on July 25, repeating the loss of electricity across the country. The disruptions halted the Tbilisi metro, suspended railway services, curtailed water‑pumping stations and caused intermittent mobile‑internet and cellular‑network failures. Power was gradually restored, with most areas receiving electricity within a few hours.

The State Security Service of Georgia opened a criminal investigation for sabotage under Article 318 of the Georgian Criminal Code, treating the incidents as possible attacks on critical infrastructure. Authorities cited the disconnection of the 500‑kilovolt “Imereti” transmission line from the Enguri Hydroelectric Power Plant as a key factor, though the line’s operator said the outage was beyond his control. The national energy regulator GNERC convened an emergency meeting, granting investigators unrestricted access to data from all energy firms, while the grid operator GSE denied any fault related to a transmission line toward Turkey. The exact cause of the blackouts remains under investigation.