The President of Kyrgyzstan explained the energy crisis by the lack of new hydropower plants

On December 14, President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov told in an interview why there are power outages in the country and what steps are being taken to resolve the issue of the energy crisis.

The Head of State recalled that the energy deficit in the republic today is 3.9 billion kWh, he also stressed that during the period of independence, not a single new hydroelectric power station was built in the country.

“Not a single hydroelectric power station has been built in 30 years. If during these 30 years at least one small hydroelectric power station with a capacity of 30 MW was put into operation annually, then there would not be such an acute shortage in winter,” he said.

The President noted that despite the efforts to commission small hydropower plants today, it has not yet been possible to get rid of the gap between consumption and production.

“I ask the people who have endured for 30 years to endure for another 3-4 years. When the construction of Kambar-Ata-1 with a capacity of 1,860 MW is completed, the problem of shortage will be completely solved. Then it will be possible to switch to electricity everywhere. I give a lot of instructions to increase electricity production, and if everything goes according to plan, then after the 2030s we will even be able to export electricity in winter,” Sadyr Japarov said.

As he recalled, such small HPPs as Bala-Saruu, Kaynama, Ysyk-Ata, Kok-Art, Isfayram, Kurak-Tektir, Kyshtut and others are already being built and put into operation.

“Our large hydroelectric power plants have not yet been modernized. For example, a complete reconstruction is underway at the Toktogul HPP. Next year there will be only one unit left to upgrade. When the work is completed, the total capacity will increase by 240 MW. This year we started updating the Uch-Korgon HPP. This month we are launching the fourth generator, which will give an additional 9 MW. After the complete reconstruction, 36 MW will be added,” the president shared.

The Head of State noted the work on the commissioning of the second hydroelectric unit at the Kambar-Ata HPP-2. Currently, according to him, a tender has been held, and it is planned to start work in the first quarter of next year. The launch of the second unit will add another 120 MW of power.

Agreements have been signed with investors to generate a total of 3 GW of electricity in 2025-2026.

Also, as Sadyr Japarov recalled, an agreement was signed with an investor for the construction of a floating solar power plant with a capacity of 1200 MW on the surface of the Toktogul reservoir, and construction work will begin in the near future.

He recalled that Kyrgyzstan today has to import electricity from neighboring countries, but they also have a shortage, and as the cold weather intensifies, negotiations are underway to increase supplies.

“However, the power lines coming to us from neighbors do not always cope with the increased load, heat up and are at risk of accidents. When consumption increases, our power engineers are forced to take regulatory measures. Without such measures, there is a risk of failure of expensive equipment,” the head of state said.

According to the president, one large transformer costs about 140 million soms.

“Imagine if it burns down, we will first need to find funds to replace it. And even if there is money, the manufacturer will require more than 150 days to produce it on order. In addition, delivery and installation will take from 60 to 80 days. By that time, winter will be over,” he added.

Therefore, as Sadyr Japarov explains, in order to prevent such situations, power engineers are forced to switch off the lights for one or two hours.

“I ask our citizens to understand this correctly. Yes, perhaps there will be no electricity for an hour or two. But these measures will help to avoid longer and more painful outages. After all, if the transformers burn out, then the outages will last for days,” he said.

Sadyr Japarov stressed that the cost of electricity in Kyrgyzstan is 2.72 soms, and it is sold to the population for 1 som 10 tyyns.

According to the statement, 69 thousand families are supplied with electricity at a price of 55 tyyns per kWh. Also, residents of mountainous areas — 186 thousand consumers are supplied with electricity for 1 som 10 tyyns without any restrictions.

“Our citizens sometimes show indifference. Due to low prices, they do not save electricity. The simplest example: do not turn off the light in the rooms when it is not needed. I have repeatedly drawn attention to this: “Turn off the light in rooms where it is not needed.” After all, every burning light is the flow of water from the Toktogul reservoir. Therefore, please save electricity,” the president addressed the citizens.

According to Sadyr Japarov, employees of state institutions, managers, staff of schools and kindergartens, believing that “the state will pay”, irresponsibly leave the lights on in offices, buildings, do not turn off street lighting. All this has an impact on the overall balance.