Power outages in Makhachkala reminded of the risk of social unrest.

In August 2025, residents of the Reduktorny settlement in Makhachkala staged a spontaneous protest due to the lack of power in their homes. The city administration subsequently reported that power had been restored to most homes. Residents of other areas of the city also complained of similar problems. Officials noted calls for mass protests against the power outages circulating on social media and threatened residents of Makhachkala with liability for unauthorized protests. Dozens of streets in Makhachkala were left without power on the afternoon of January 21 due to failures at the feeders of several electrical substations. Throughout the day, the official Telegram channel of Dagenergo published more than 20 messages about technological violations at various substations in Makhachkala, reporting power outages in residential areas.

At least 400 homes in Makhachkala were left without power on January 21, the NNT television channel reported. Commenters on the channel's YouTube newscast are outraged by the inaction of officials, some calling for "this government to be driven out."

"Many homes are equipped with autonomous heating, which quickly loses its effectiveness without electricity, leaving residents literally freezing. (...) The electricity problems remain unresolved, and officials, as always, are busy with PR and reporting. People are freezing in the dark, businesses are suffering losses, and the government prefers to talk about achievements where, apparently, there are none," stated blogger Rasul Asad, author of the Telegram channel "Ask Rasul."

He added that regular power outages and voltage surges observed in Makhachkala also exacerbate problems in the healthcare sector: in private clinics, despite the availability of uninterruptible power supplies and backup energy sources, expensive medical equipment such as MRI and CT machines is being damaged.

The latest power outages and heating problems coincided with cold weather, which is increasing public anger to the limit, notes blogger Makhach Abdullayev.

“Thousands of our fellow countrymen, freezing at home with their entire families for days, are unlikely to be able to objectively accept and understand the energy collapse that has occurred. People are terribly tired of this chaos in this sector, which has been going on for many years,” he wrote on his Telegram channel “Makhach, what happened?”

The blogger emphasized that the authorities of Dagestan, including municipal officials, must direct all efforts “to improving the republic’s energy sector” as quickly as possible.

“This is a challenge for all of Dagestan, and our authorities are obliged to accept it and finally put an end to this energy and utility chaos! I am grateful to your people for their immense patience, but at the same time, I understand that it is not infinite. So do everything possible to ensure that this patience does not run out!” Abdullayev urged.

Residents complain of cold in apartments

Makhachkala residents are outraged that officials are not informing customers about problems and the progress of restoration work. A resident of Mirzabekova Street noted that her building has been without power since January 20th.

“I called Dagenergo. They answered and nonchalantly said that an underground cable was damaged and that they would work all day to fix the problem. So, it turns out that no one needed anything at night (...) And what will happen to the heating pipes? They tend to freeze, right? Then they will run around repairing the heating system for days?” the publication “Chernovik” quotes her message.

Residents of Akhmedkhan Abubakar Street have also been complaining about the lack of power since January 20th. "It's cold in the houses. It was -7 outside yesterday. Are they waiting for people to go outside? Even the phone lines are down," another reader reported.

"Every evening, the power goes out at 2a Akhmedkhan Sultan Avenue in Makhachkala. Rosseti's control room doesn't answer the phone in the evenings," a consumer reporter, Patient Monitor and Housing and Utilities, reported.

"Why do I have to sit at home without power and, therefore, without heating for up to 10 hours after coming home from work? Your technicians just wrap the cables in electrical tape and leave? Why the hell are there constant outages on the same feeders? I've been living in Semender for three years now, and it's the same thing year after year," wrote Telegram user Murad Aliyev in the comments to a post on the official Dagenergo channel.

“How can there be an emergency every single day? We're freezing! The house can't even warm up because they've been turning off the power every day for two months now!! Gusein Abakarova Street, 5th Settlement!” - writes user AiDa Zapchasti.

“Makhachkala. Vuzovskoye Lake. The power came back on a day later. The house has completely cooled down, the radiators are still cold even after half an hour of power. It's good that the kids are in kindergarten, warm. I still got sick. It was -7 outside last night, and not much warmer in the apartment,” PAPAHA Media quotes a local resident as saying.

Another author of a message on the Chernovik Telegram channel recalled a recent speech by the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the North Caucasus Federal District, who commented on problems in the utility sector in Dagestan. He doubted that the high-ranking security official's statement would lead to practical changes.

"Any local police officer in Dagestan knows where and who has a mining farm in their district. What's the problem with detecting it and preventing electricity theft? What's the problem with the Dagestan Department for Economic Security and Combating Corruption (UBEP) taking on the Unified Operator and Dagenergo without Bachurin's loud statements? Who gave the order not to touch the Unified Operator and Dagenergo? Why did the new mayor of Makhachkala, Salavov, allow housing and utility rates to increase to 44%?" he asked indignantly.