Residents of the town of Karazhal in the Ulytau region have been without electricity for the second day. Due to an accident on power lines, part of the town was left without light and heating. Authorities report a partial restoration of electricity supply, but hundreds of homes remain without power.
According to Tengrinews.kz, the accident occurred on the morning of 17 December — the electricity suddenly went out in the town. By the evening, power had only returned to a few areas, while most of Karazhal, including apartment blocks and private houses, continued to be without electricity.
On social media, residents are posting videos and photos. They say they are forced to sleep in their outer clothes under several blankets and use whatever they can to keep warm.
"There is no CHP plant in Karazhal. Here, it's stoves, boilers and pumps — a chain that only works when there is electricity. The power goes out and the chain breaks. People sleep in jackets, under several blankets. Some people's radiators have already started leaking — the systems simply cannot handle the cold," says community activist Vera Yun.
According to her, around one and a half thousand residents remain without light and heating — that is tens of streets and entire neighbourhoods.
The situation is particularly difficult in the private sector. According to Karazhal resident Ulyana Pichkulyova, their house was heated using a car last night.
"My husband connected the pump to the car via an inverter. The car ran outside all night so the boiler wouldn't stop. There was no other way," she says.
The woman notes that sudden power cuts are dangerous because, without water circulation, boilers can boil over and explode.
"The cold brings all sorts of other problems with it. When the power goes out in the town, it's not just the heating that stops. Communication goes down, there are water supply disruptions, shops close. The only bakery is not working. Phones run out of battery, the internet goes off, fridges start to thaw. Ordinary household things become a problem in these conditions," added Pichkulyova.
During the period without electricity and heating, a temporary warming and feeding point for the population has been set up in one of the town's schools. Residents themselves note that these days the town is relying on mutual aid.
"Those who have electricity take in their neighbours and help families with children. Without that, it would be really hard," said community activist Surya Sadvakasova.
According to residents, problems with the electricity supply have been going on for several years now. Major outages also occurred in the summer — the town was also left without power for almost three days then.
The akimat of the Ulytau region confirmed the accident and said that specialists are carrying out restoration work. The authorities also arranged the delivery of bread.
"An order was placed for 1,000 loaves of bread from Zhanaarka, delivery is expected in the evening. Bread was also ordered from Karaganda. <…> There was an emergency power outage in the town of Karazhal. The 35 kV protection activated at the 'Orken' LLP substation. The cause is related to the power line of 'West-2001' LLP," the akimat reported.
According to the authorities, emergency restoration work continued until 5 a.m. on 18 December, after which the electricity supply was partially restored.
"Currently, 385 subscribers remain without electricity, including 380 private residential houses, as well as five social facilities — the akimat building, Kazpost, the House of Culture and School No. 1. Additional outages are scheduled from 11:00 on 18 December to carry out work and eliminate the cause of the accident," the Karazhal akimat clarified.