A mass blackout occurred in the Mongolian capital city on Saturday (15 September) after human error caused a serious technical failure at IV Thermal Power Plant. The power cut, which lasted a day, paralyzed the city’s life. During Saturday, the public faced many difficulties such as not being able to get money from ATMs, danger on the roads due to the  street lights not working and no electric power for cooking food or charging phones.

The IV Thermal Power Plant was built in the 1980s and provides electricity and thermal power for over two-thirds of Ulaanbaatar. The Mongolian Government has been implementing technical modernisation at the facility each year, but has clearly been hampered by the recent  financial situation.