Georgian Parliament Speaker says nationwide electricity shutdown “unusual”, all details must be clarified

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Saturday said that the nationwide electricity shutdowns on July 24 and 25 were an unusual incident that requires a thorough investigation, as the State Security Service examines the case under the sabotage article.

In his remarks, Papuashvili noted that it was important to establish all the circumstances surrounding the incident and determine whether it was caused by human error, outside interference, or possible sabotage.

“The fact is that this was an unusual event when the entire system was shut down one after another, so it is important that all details are clarified. I do not want to get ahead of anything - let’s see what the result of the investigation will be - but it is important that all details are established. If there is any human factor here, someone’s interference, or any action of a sabotage nature, of course all of this must be revealed. Let’s see what we will be dealing with”, Papuashvili said.

The State Security Service of Georgia has launched an investigation following multiple emergency power outages across the country.

The investigation is being conducted under Article 318 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which addresses sabotage.