Baku, Azerbaijan, July 18
By Fikret Dolukhanov – Trend:
The expansion of electricity supplies to Afghanistan is planned through commissioning of new capacities in the energy system of Uzbekistan, Uzbekenergo JSC, an energy operator of Uzbekistan, told Trend on July 18.
The representative of the company further said that according to the concept of development of the energy industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan until 2021, commissioning of new capacities of about 5,100 megawatts with an annual output of 33 billion kilowatt/hours is expected in the energy system of Uzbekenergo.
“It is also expected to put into operation new capacities of about 570 megawatts in the system of Uzbekhydroenergo, which will allow exporting electricity to other countries, including Afghanistan, in the amount of up to 5 billion kilowatt/hours per year,” the company said.
Until the end of October 2018, Uzbekenergo should conclude contracts on increasing export to Afghanistan of electricity and electrical products, such as poles, transformers and reinforced concrete products, as well as on provision of services for the transit of electricity to neighboring power systems.
The government of Uzbekistan is already planning to seriously increase the volume of electricity supplies to Afghanistan in 2018, including through transit, in line with the “roadmap” for financial recovery and increase of efficiency of activities of Uzbekenergo.
Uzbekistan has been supplying electricity to Afghanistan since 2002 with annual direct contracts, taking into account the needs of the Afghan side. In 2002, the supply volume was only 62 million kilowatt/hours. This volume has been gradually increasing year-to-year until reaching 200 million kilowatt/hours in 2017. In 2018, a contract was signed to supply approximately two billion kilowatt/hours of electricity.
One of the most promising tasks of the two countries is to join Afghanistan to the unified energy ring of Central Asia. To this end, a new power line, Surkhan-Puli-Khumri, will be constructed. The preliminary cost of the project is $150 million, $32 million of which will be spent on work in Uzbekistan. The remaining $118 million will be spent in Afghanistan. The payback period of the project is 12 years.
Uzbekenergo JSC is a state-owned joint-stock company (SJSC), formed in 2001 in the form of an open joint-stock company with inclusion of coal industry enterprises in its structure. The company includes 53 enterprises and organizations, among which 39 open joint-stock companies, 11 unitary enterprises, 2 limited liability companies and a branch of the Energosbyt company, carrying out energy sales.
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