A major power outage affected Montenegro, Bosnia, Albania, and most of Croatia’s coast on Friday, disrupting businesses, shutting down traffic lights, and leaving people without air conditioning during a severe heatwave. The outage, caused by a sudden surge in power consumption and system overload due to high temperatures, highlighted the vulnerability of the interconnected Balkan power grid.
Montenegro’s Energy Minister, Sasa Mujovic, attributed the blackout to the extreme heat and increased power demand, which overloaded the regional power distribution network. The outage, which lasted several hours, caused widespread disruption in the affected countries.
In Montenegro, nearly the entire country experienced a power cut. Croatia’s coastal areas, including the cities of Split and Dubrovnik, were also heavily impacted. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the capital Sarajevo and other cities faced significant disruptions, including traffic jams caused by non-functioning traffic lights. Albania’s power supply was interrupted but it was restored within half an hour.
Reports indicated that the outage started in Montenegro and quickly spread to Bosnia, Croatia, and Albania due to the interconnected nature of their power grids. Authorities in all four countries worked to restore power, with most areas regaining electricity by mid-afternoon.
The power cut led to widespread issues, including halted water pumps in Podgorica, malfunctioning air conditioners, and spoiled goods in shops. In Croatia, ambulance sirens were heard in Split, where the outage caused significant disruption. Similar scenes were reported in Dubrovnik, where tourists were left stranded as businesses closed.
The regional power grid has been under strain for days due to high temperatures and increased use of air conditioning. Ivan Asanovic, executive director of the Montenegrin Electric Transmission System, stated that the exact cause of the blackout was still under investigation. He noted that high loads on the network and extreme temperatures were likely contributors.
The heatwave, with temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), exacerbated the situation. Efforts to restore power were largely successful by the evening.
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