A significant power outage has impacted Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, and most of Croatia’s Adriatic coast, leaving residents struggling in the midst of a severe heatwave.
The scorching temperatures in Montenegro’s capital, Podgorica, soared to 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) on Friday. The power distributor CEDIS reported “network outages” causing power cuts throughout most of the country.
Montenegro’s energy minister, Sasa Mujovic, informed local media that the electricity disruption was regional and attributed to the ongoing heatwave.
“The surge in consumption due to the high temperatures has led to this sudden blackout,” Mujovic explained.
In Bosnia, major cities like Sarajevo, Banja Luka, and Mostar were left without power. Reports of blackouts spread across the country.
“While the exact cause of the blackout remains unknown, it is suspected to be related to the overload on the interconnector,” stated Midheta Kurspahic, a spokesperson from the Bosnia and Herzegovina Electricity Company.
In the Croatian city of Split, traffic came to a standstill as traffic lights malfunctioned, as reported by state TV HRT. The sound of ambulance sirens filled the city.
Croatia’s HEP power utility attributed the outages in certain areas to “an international disturbance affecting multiple countries,” without providing specific details.
“The Croatian transmission system operator is collaborating with neighboring countries to investigate the cause,” HEP stated. The utility assured that production capacities were fully operational to restore supply promptly.
Albania’s Top Channel TV highlighted that the capital, Tirana, and several towns were also plunged into darkness.
Extreme heatwave the culprit?
Efforts to restore power began by midafternoon on Friday, according to operators.
Reporting from Sarajevo, Al Jazeera’s Aida Hadzimusic mentioned that the exact reason behind the regional blackout remains a mystery.
“According to Croatian officials, it did not happen in…
Post from www.aljazeera.com