Chechen authorities' winter preparedness report contradicts widespread power and water outages

Chechnya's Prime Minister Magomed Daudov's remarks about readiness for the heating season came amid ongoing widespread power and water outages.

Chechnya's Minister of Construction, Housing, and Utilities, Muslim Zaipullaev, announced at a meeting with Prime Minister Magomed Daudov that Chechnya's housing, utilities, energy, and gas infrastructure was "fully prepared for winter." "All scheduled repairs and maintenance work have been completed," he said. "The heating season in all municipalities has begun on schedule," Daudov was quoted as saying by the Chechnya Today news agency on November 24.

Meanwhile, in the past 10 days alone, since November 17, the same agency has published three reports of widespread power outages and two reports of water supply outages in Chechnya.

A reader of the "Caucasian Knot" who identifies as a resident of Chechnya drew attention to the discrepancy between official statements and the actual situation in the region. "The biggest problem for the residents of Chechnya is the power grid. Almost daily, in various areas of the republic, there are massive power outages, under the pretext of the need to carry out some kind of repair work. And this lasts all year round. But, in addition to the "planned" outages, the power companies are constantly experiencing "emergency" ones. A small wind, rain or snow is enough for the power to go out for many hours in a particular city or town. Power companies complain about the wear and tear of equipment and dilapidated lines, and consumers are interested in where the money collected from them for electricity goes in this case and why the authorities, who have the opportunity to erect skyscrapers everywhere, even build an entire new district in Grozny named after Putin, consisting entirely of high-rise buildings, can’t solve this problem?" - says the message of a reader under the nickname wilburn.russel.

It should be noted that a similar situation in the region has been going on for years. For example, in July, amid the heat in Chechen villages and Grozny, hour-long power outages and problems with water supply became the norm.

In August 2024, Chechen residents reported that Chechenenergo was shutting off electricity in Grozny and the republic's regional centers, with the published schedules inconsistent with reality. They reported that regular power outages were causing equipment to malfunction and unusable elevators. In February 2024, residents of Chechnya complained that regular power outages and voltage fluctuations were causing household appliances to fail and additional expenses.

Meanwhile, in August 2023, energy companies recommended Chechen residents to use electricity sparingly due to the heat, stating that the load on energy facilities had "increased significantly."

Consumers who are not supplied with water must file complaints with housing inspectorates, the prosecutor's office, and the court and record the lack of water to justify the cessation of payment, Ziyavutdin Uvaisov, head of the organization "Monitor Housing and Utilities," previously reported.

"You can't not receive water and still pay for it. You need to file a complaint, document the lack of water, and demand a recalculation. As soon as it's confirmed that the water is of poor quality or not being supplied, you can get a recalculation. From the moment a complaint is filed and recorded, it's assumed there's no water until proven otherwise. If you can prove it with witness testimony, you can get a recalculation. People don't want to deal with this, so they pay," Uvaisov said.

"If enough people complain, highlight, and talk about these problems on social media, it can help. Filing a complaint with the supplier is pointless; you need to contact the prosecutor's office, the housing inspectorate, or the court. And the best thing is to write to Putin through the official website—it's very helpful," the lawyer advised.