Published
12/23/2024, 11:00Kyrgyzstan has recorded a new historical maximum in electricity consumption. On December 11-12, daily consumption totaled 78.9 million kilowatt-hours, and the maximum power reached 3,612 megawatt watts. This surpassed last year's record, when consumption totaled 73.37 million kilowatt-hours during more severe frosts.
It is not difficult to guess that the reason for such dynamics was winter and the cold weather that came with it. Residents more actively use electric appliances for heating, which increases the load on the energy system. But it should be noted that the demand for electricity is growing not only because of cold weather. In 2024, more than 100 new businesses opened in Kyrgyzstan. This is a significant achievement that stimulates the country's economic development. However, industrial facilities themselves imply active consumption of energy for production.
“Yes, this has a significant impact. This year it will not be possible to cover the full consumption by the country's own resources. Small hydropower plants, and large hydropower plants are still under construction and not yet operational. So far, we remain dependent on imported electricity,” Chorobai Akunov, chairman of the board of the Association of Energy Veterans of the Kyrgyz Republic, told Akchabar.
He emphasized that the situation with power generation in Kyrgyzstan is not critical, as the republic has concluded contracts with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan for import of electricity. These supplies allow to cope with the current level of consumption.
New plants and factories make a significant contribution to the economy: production volumes increase, jobs are created, and export potential grows. Industry not only develops regions, but also improves the quality of life of citizens, creating a sustainable basis for further growth.
However, Chorobay Akunov emphasizes that despite the growth of consumption by enterprises, the main volume is accounted for by household consumers. This fact also tells us that the standard of living in the country has become higher.
“Now each family on average consumes at least 15 kW of electricity. This is due to the increased use of household appliances such as washing machines and microwaves, as well as the transition to electric heating of houses, which was not the case before,” says the expert.
This growth is a positive signal for the economy, but it also presents the energy system with new challenges. Solving them will require modernizing infrastructure, introducing advanced technologies and improving resource efficiency. Therefore, power engineers warn that overloading equipment can lead to short-term outages and even failure of expensive equipment. Replacing a 250 MVA transformer, for example, would cost more than $1.5 million and take up to a month and a half.
Hydrogenerators of Toktogul HPP and stations of the lower cascade “Naryn” are operating at maximum capacity. The daily output of the Toktogul HPP reaches 27.53 million kilowatt hours, and the reservoir continues to fill.
