Georgian PM says July blackout may not have been sabotage

Georgia’s nationwide power outage on July 24 and 25 may not have been caused by sabotage, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said, adding that the State Security Service will determine the cause.

“We must wait for the investigation to be completed and for official information to be released, and only then will we provide the public with full details. Let’s not jump to conclusions; perhaps sabotage wasn’t involved at all. Once everything has been fully clarified, we will share the information with the public,” Kobakhidze told reporters, Caliber.Az reports per Russian media.

The prime minister also noted that Georgia experienced another power outage on August 1, but said that incident was caused by testing at the Inguri Hydroelectric Power Plant.

The July 24-25 blackout affected Tbilisi and other major cities and towns across the country. Public transport was also disrupted, with the Tbilisi metro and railway services suspended.

Following the widespread outage, Georgia’s State Security Service opened a criminal investigation under the “Sabotage” article of the country’s Criminal Code.

By Sabina Mammadli