Small Hydropower In The Kyrgyz Plant

In order to develop small hydropower in Kyrgyzstan, all barriers to investors must be removed as soon as possible. This was announced today, 17 February, by Vice-Prime Minister Valery Dil at the republican meeting on the development of small hydropower in the CD.

He noted that the issue of small energy development was particularly relevant in view of the situation in which Kyrgyzstan had to buy electricity abroad. "It's not only because last year in Kyrgyzstan was short-water. It is estimated that, even in the event of a water crisis, we will not be able to sustain the economy at the right level, as there is a lack of new generating capacities, Dile emphasized.

According to him, energy was currently operating data from the Soviet era. They indicate that only 10 per cent of the river hydropotential is used in Kyrgyzstan. "There are 14 billion kilowattt-hours a year today, while 140 billion could be generated. The enormous prospects that exist give us the opportunity to plan for long-term hydropower development. We can not only secure the domestic market, but also become the main seller of electricity in Central Asia. At the Soviet time, the calculations were made 50 years ahead. The projects that we are implementing have been developed and designed in the 1960s-70s of the last century, and the vice-premier noted.

He added that until 1974, when the Toktoğul GEC was built, in Kyrgyzstan, electricity was provided only by small and medium-sized GEC. Development Small hydropower Stopped. Over the years, almost all small and medium-sized GECs have ceased to exist, with the exception of Chakan GEC, Atbachin GEC and a number of others.

"Today, we're standing in front of the dilemma, how quickly to put new power generation into line. The introduction of medium-sized and large-scale power plants requires long-term investment and time-frames. So a breakthrough can be achieved with small energy, noted by Dil.

According to him, the current legislative framework in Kyrgyzstan was good. The development of small GECs is lacking because of the low investment attractiveness of such projects. "The Tariff Policy in Kyrgyzstan has always been socially linked, so all projects become long-paid. At a rate of 3 cents per kilowatt hour, a capacity of 1 megawattt requires $1,5 million. The period of pay is 18-20 years. It should be reduced to eight years, and the vice primer made it.