Tag Archives: electricity

Sangtuda-1 rows with Tajikistan’s Barqi Tojik

JUNE 13 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The administration of the Sangtuda-1 hydropower plant said it will not pay taxes until Tajikistan’s power distribution company Barqi Tojik pays for its electricity supplies. The hydropower company, co-owned by Russian and Tajik state-companies, said Barqi Tojik has piled up a debt of 628m somoni ($79m). Barqi Tojik is one of the most indebted state-owned companies in Tajikistan.

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(News report from Issue No. 285, published on June 17 2016)

Inter-RAO sells its Georgian stake

JUNE 10 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia’s state-owned power distribution company Inter RAO said the sale of its 100% stake in the Georgian company Mtkvari Energy will generate a positive return for shareholders. Inter RAO representatives told media that the total amount of the sale cannot be disclosed for a few months, but that it “greatly exceeds” the value of the assets. Inter RAO completed the sale of Mtkvari Energy to unnamed international investors on June 2. Mtkvari Energy operates a thermal power plant outside Tbilisi. A recession in Russia and opposition to electricity price increases across the South Caucasus has persuaded Inter RAO to sell assets in Georgia and Armenia.

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(News report from Issue No. 285, published on June 17 2016)

Turkmenistan signs electricity deal with Afghanistan

JUNE 7 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmenistan and Afghanistan signed a 10-year agreement for the supply of electricity, a sign of enhanced cross-border cooperation for the two countries’ power sectors. State-owned Turkmenenergo and Afghanistan’s DABS extended the current agreement to the end of 2017 and signed a new agreement, which will last until the end of 2027. Turkmenistan aims to export electricity to Tajikistan and Pakistan via Afghanistan. It holds ambitions to turn itself into a regional power generation hub.

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(News report from Issue No. 284, published on June 10 2016)

Power production sinks in Azerbaijan

JUNE 6 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Electricity production in Azerbaijan shrank by 6.1% to 9.2b kWh last year, state-owned Azerenergy said in a statement. Power generation had decreased marginally in 2015 compared to the previous year. Electricity generation, especially from sources other than coal or gas, is one of the main priorities for Azerbaijan.

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(News report from Issue No. 284, published on June 10 2016)

Tajikistan completes construction of power line

MAY 31 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Tajikistan completed the construction of a power line that will link two Afghan villages to the Tajik grid, bringing electricity to around 3,000 Afghans for the first time. The US Embassy in Dushanbe and the Aga Khan Foundation jointly funded the $1.5m project. The power line will bring electricity from Tajikistan’s Gorno– Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast across the Panj river which marks the boundary with Afghanistan.

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(News report from Issue No. 283, published on June 3 2016)

Kyrgyzstan to pay high price for electricity

JUNE 1 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Kyrgyz government is under pressure to justify paying relatively high prices to Kazakhstan for electricity. Dastan Dzhumabekov, an MP in the ruling government coalition, asked Alibek Kaliyev, head of the National Energy Holding, to clarify why Kyrgyzstan accepted paying 9 tenge ($0.026) per kWh to Kazakhstan, while Kazakhstan charges Russia only 5 tenge ($0.014) per kWh. Mr Kaliyev was unable to give a clear answer which MPs said was illogical given Kyrgyzstan’s membership of the Eurasian Economic Union.

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(News report from Issue No. 283, published on June 3 2016)

RusHydro to invest in Armenia

JUNE 2 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — The International Energy Corporation, a subsidiary of Russia’s state- owned electricity company RusHydro, said it would invest 18.9b dram (around $4m) into modernising the Yerevan-1 hydropower plant. Yerevan-1 is part of a seven-hydropower plant complex collectively called Sevan-Hrazdan Cascade. RusHydro owns a 90% stake in the company.

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(News report from Issue No. 283, published on June 3 2016)

Kazakh electricity company eyes up CASA-1000

MAY 20 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — KEGOC, a state-owned electricity distributor in Kazakhstan, said it would be open to exporting electricity to Afghanistan and Pakistan through the CASA-1000 line. The CASA-1000 project is scheduled for completion by 2020.

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(News report from Issue No. 282, published on May 27 2016)

Concern grows over Kyrgyz power generating capacity

BISHKEK, MAY 20 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — A senior analyst questioned whether Kyrgyzstan will be able to hit its obligations for the CASA-1000 project that aims to supply Pakistan and Afghanistan with electricity generated by Tajik and Kyrgyz hydropower stations.

Most of the electricity needed for the CASA-1000 project is set to be produced by Tajikistan but Kyrgyzstan still has an important role to play. The problem is that its infrastructure and ability to ramp up output appears increasingly fragile.

Alexander Knyazev, political scientist, member of Russian Geographical Society and expert on Central Asia was downbeat about Kyrgyzstan’s prospects of playing a significant role in CASA-1000.

“Even in the long-term, this project has no prospects to me as it is not based on Kyrgyzstan’s and Tajikistan’s real capacities. The refurbishment and modernisation of Bishkek and Toktogul power plants require funds, which Kyrgyzstan does not have,” he told the Bulletin.

“Moreover, Pakistan is insisting on year-round delivery, whereas exports can only be seasonal.”

Mr Knyazev’s warning will worry international policymakers. The World Bank is funding most of the $1.2b cost of the project which the US has said is a major part of its north- south new Silk Road.

At the end of last year Kyrgyzstan’s biggest hyrdopower station at Toktogul broke down and a few weeks later Russia pulled out of a $2b project to build a new dam and hydropower station because a recession linked to the collapse in oil prices have heavily dented its spending power.

Construction on the CASA-1000 project was officially started this month.

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(News report from Issue No. 282, published on May 27 2016)

World Bank mulls Tajik hydropower help

MAY 18 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The World Bank said it would consider funding the modernisation of the Nurek hydropower plant in central Tajikistan. Located 70km east of Dushanbe, the 3,000 MW plant at Nurek produces around 70% of Tajikistan’s total electricity output. Earlier in May, Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon said it needs an investment of more than 4.7bn somoni (around $600m).

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(News report from Issue No. 281, published on May 20 2016)