Everything got up: a large-scale blackout occurred in Primorye

On Thursday, June 26, it became known about the power outage in the south of Primorsky Krai. The accident occurred on a power transmission line. At the time of publication of the article, it became known that it had already been put into operation and a gradual load set and restoration of power supply were underway. For more information about the accident, as well as its causes, see the Izvestia article.

Electricity cutoff in Primorye: what happened, the reasons

On Thursday, June 26, at 15:56 local time (08:56 Moscow time — Ed.), an electric power failure occurred in the south of Primorsky Krai. The reason was the shutdown of the power transmission line of the Siberian Generating Company, this was reported in the Telegram channel of the Ministry of Energy and Gas Supply of Primorsky Krai.

"Emergency power outage in the southern part of Primorsky Krai. Today, on June 26, at 15:56, an emergency shutdown of the 500 kV Primorskaya GRES — Hekhtsir 2 power transmission line occurred. As a result, the system load limitation automation has been activated," the message says.

They also reported that the electricity supply to consumers with a total capacity of about 600 MW was cut off. The blackout affected Vladivostok, Artyom, Nadezhdinsky district, Ussuriysk, Dalnegorsk, Bolshoy Kamen, Nakhodka, Arsenyev and Lesozavodsk. Because of the accident, not only houses were left without electricity. In Vladivostok, some automobile and pedestrian traffic lights stopped working, banks and ATMs stopped working, and shops closed for a technical break.

Many residents have also shortened their working hours, however, due to the shutdown of traffic lights, a traffic jam has formed. According to Yandex Maps, their density was 8 points. Communication and Internet outages were also reported.

Immediately after the accident, according to the Ministry of Energy of Primorye, specialists began diagnostics and restoration work.

Already at 16:12 (09:12 Moscow time), according to the regional Ministry of Energy, the transmission line was successfully put into operation, a gradual load set was carried out and the power supply was restored. According to the latest data (at 17:10; 10:10 Moscow time), 93% of consumers had it restored.

Experts also determined that the accident was in no way related to external influences, but its exact causes will be determined after an inspection of the transmission line. Work on the full restoration of electricity in the region continues.

Investigation of an accident at a power transmission line in Primorye

The prosecutor's office has already launched an investigation into the incident in a number of regions of the Primorsky Territory: "The Prosecutor's Office has organized an investigation into the termination of power supply in the region. Emergency recovery work has been placed under the supervision of the supervisory authority. During the inspection, a fundamental assessment will be given to the actions of those responsible for the maintenance and operation of electrical networks."

Power outage in Primorye on August 16, 2024

Recall that on August 16, 2024, one of the largest power grid accidents occurred in Primorsky Krai. Then the reason for the blackout was a technological malfunction of the Primorskaya GRES equipment.

As reported by the Far Eastern Distribution Grid Company, on August 16, 2024 at 17:15 (10:15 Moscow time), a "frequency regime violation" occurred outside the Primorsky Territory caused by the operation of emergency automation. As a result, the shutdown occurred again at Primorskaya GRES — Hekhtsir 2.

The backbone electric networks of the East (a branch of PJSC ROSSETI) reported that the shutdown of several 500 kV lines in Primorsky Krai occurred as a result of "local damage to the equipment" of Primorsky GRES and the subsequent normal operation of relay protection and emergency automation systems.