Murmansk and Severomorsk have suffered another blackout, leaving residents of the two strategic Russian cities without electricity and heating once more.
Governor Andrei Chibis reported the outages on January 31. He said the failure occurred on a section of a power transmission line where temporary supports had been installed earlier. Authorities say the structures themselves were not damaged.
Severe weather is compounding the situation: temperatures in Murmansk are around -23 degrees, and the power cuts immediately halted heating in residential buildings. Just a few days ago, the region endured a major accident after which old transmission pylons were replaced with new- but temporary, wooden - supports.
The grid operator Rosseti said emergency crews are working around the clock under a pre-established plan. Some customers were quickly switched to backup circuits, with boiler plants and socially critical facilities prioritized. Still, the very fact of a repeat outage in a region untouched by the war proved telling.
Murmansk authorities introduced a special operating regime for city services. Public transportation shifted to a special schedule, and classes were canceled in schools. The city also began a phased shutdown of outdoor lighting and decorative illumination to free up capacity for hospitals, boiler plants and other priority sites. An operations headquarters has been set up to coordinate emergency services.
