Uzbekistan eyes to achieve stable and continuous operation of energy system within 2 years

According to the data, in recent years, especially after the energy crisis in early 2023, all work has been focused on “plugging the holes” in the energy system. At the moment, the Ministry of Energy and other organizations are preparing for the summer season, when electricity is used more than in the winter season, and the fire resistance of electric cables is lower if they overheat. For example, in the city of Tashkent, as of January 1, electricity consumption has decreased to 657 MW, but in the summer, it will increase to 1500 MW.

The Ministry of Energy gave the example of China, which “had many blackouts” 10-15 years ago. Today, in Japan and South Korea, the duration of emergency power outages is 5-7 minutes per year, while in China, this indicator has decreased to 4 minutes. The Chinese government initially increased the production of electricity, and Uzbekistan also “spent all its energy on it”. At the end of December, six “green” power plants with a total capacity of 2.4 GW were put into operation.

In general, it is planned to increase the capacity of “green” power plants by 27 GW by 2030. This will save 25 billion cubic meters of natural gas and reduce the emission of harmful substances into the atmosphere by 34 million tons annually.

In the second stage, it is planned to renew electric networks and substations in Uzbekistan. In particular, it is planned to build more than 100 substations with voltage of 110, 220 and 500 kV and localize the production of transformers together with the Chinese concern China XD Electric Co.

It is planned to build and modernize 220 and 500 kV power grids with State Grid Corporation of China, the world’s largest power grid company (which is engaged in the transmission and maintenance of networks in 26 regions of China, which is 88% of the territory).

In addition, within the framework of the $115 million project of the World Bank, it is planned to complete the digitization of the energy system and introduce the SCADA system.

Another direction is to involve private operators to manage transmission networks in the regions. An option where businesses can benefit from reducing the amount of losses in the power grid is being explored.

According to the Ministry of Energy, in 2023, about 4 billion kWh of electricity was imported into Uzbekistan.

Earlier, the Minister of Energy Jurabek Mirzamakhmudov stated that from 2024, the task of covering 100 percent of the internal need for energy resources was set. “If we can’t do it, not only I, but all the officials in the system are unfit to work,” he said then.