BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 14. The electricity consumption in Kyrgyzstan reached a record level on December 11-12, Trend reports, citing the country's Energy Ministry.
“According to the information obtained yesterday, 3,612 megawatts of electricity were consumed, and daily electricity consumption reached 78.931 million kilowatts per hour. Such a figure has not been in the history of Kyrgyzstan,” the information notes.
The previous record was set on December 14, 2023. Electricity consumption was 3,401 megawatts, and daily consumption reached 73.370 million kilowatts per hour, but then the air temperature was lower—from -8 up to -20 degrees, while this year it was from -5 to -14 degrees.
The ministry noted that due to the excessive use of electricity, the equipment is overloaded, requiring temporary shutdowns to prevent breakdowns. A 250 MVA transformer, for example, costs $1.5 million and will take about 6 months to replace.
Hydro generators of Electric Power Plants OJSC are operating at maximum capacity. Toktogul HPP, after the commissioning of a new hydroelectric unit, reached a capacity of 1,260 megawatts with a daily output of 27.528 million kilowatts per hour, while the water flow rate is 932 m³/s. Due to the efforts of power engineers, the volume of water in the reservoir by winter increased to 13.257 billion cubic meters, which is 1.513 billion cubic meters more than a year ago. Also, all stations of the lower cascade of the Naryn HPP are operating at maximum capacity.
Moreover, the amount of water flowing out of the Toktogul reservoir is increasing every day, and currently, the water flow rate through the hydropower units of the station is 932 m³/sec.
“If we entered the winter heating season of 2023 with a volume of 11.744 bcm of water, this year, due to the optimal work of power engineers to provide water and import electricity from outside, by the winter heating season of 2024, they managed to accumulate up to 13.257 bcm of water,” the information says.
Furthermore, it is noted that the volume of water in the reservoir is 12.234 bcm as of December 12. The decline in the mentioned volume is observed from 56-57 million cubic meters per day.
“If electricity consumption continues at this rate, the water volume could drop sharply to 6.0 billion cubic meters before the end of the winter heating season. This means that by April 1, 2025, the volume of water in the reservoir will be 6.5-6.2 bcm, which could lead to a critical reservoir level,” the information emphasizes.
