ROSTOV-ON-DON, January 22 (RIA Novosti, Sofia Bryukanova) - An explosion hit a high-power electricity transmission tower near the city of Karachayevsk in Russia's North Caucasus, cutting electricity supplies to Georgia, the Emergency Situations Ministry said Sunday.

The explosion occurred at 11:50 a.m. Moscow time (08:50 a.m. GMT). Repair work was under way to restore electricity supplies. The cause of the explosion was being investigated, the ministry said.

The Georgian Fuel and Energy Ministry made a decision to import electricity from Turkey to make up for the shortage of power.

Also, explosions early Sunday on pipelines running through southern Russia cut natural gas supplies to Georgia and Armenia.