OREANDA-NEWS. September 02, 2014. Power cuts, gas and electricity rationing, disruptions of heating and hot water provisions and other discomforts are in store for vast parts of Kyrgyzstan in the upcoming winter, state officials have repeatedly warned through the news media of late. In early summer, Uzbekistan stopped all gas supplies to Kyrgyzstan, leaving the entire south of the country with only electric stoves to cook on.

Electricity supplies are a particularly painful problem – not just for the trouble their shortcomings are for the population and the institutions of the country, but first and foremost since should all works underway have been carried out in a timely and accurate manner, there would have been no need for the pending ordeal.
 
"I want to remind once more that the coming winter will be difficult," Prime Minister Dzhomart Otorbaev was quoted in a note by the state news agency Kabar as stating in Bishkek  at a conference call. "We often talked about the fact that the country is self-sufficient in electricity. But last winter we passed anyhow with power generation 14-15 billion kW / h. This year, the water in the Toktogul reservoir still less its deficit amounted to 3.5 billion cubic meters,” the PM was quoted by the agency as declaring – adding:  “Otorbaev noted that the upcoming winter electricity consumption will be reduced by 30% due to the reduction of limits,” in the agency’s words.
 
“Declared economically unjustified”
And the most embarrassing thing in the entire affair is that there would be no need for any concern if works scheduled years ago would have proceeded on time – both where domestic generation capacity as import facilities are concerned. “In order to improve the reliability of parallel operation of power systems of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, construction of a 500 kV high-voltage power line from South Kazakhstan Regional Power Plant to Zhambyl is enough, AkiPress last week quoted Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Energy and Industry as declaring.

“The 500 kV high-voltage power line is suggested instead of the previously considered power transmission line from Kyrgyzstan's Kemin to Kazakhstan's Almaty. Following the meeting of a joint working group in May 2013, implementation of the project on construction of interstate power line was declared economically unjustified. Later, the sides agreed that construction of the interstate 500 kV Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan power line is premature. Reliable parallel operation of power systems of the two countries in the medium term can be provided through the 500 kV power line from the South Kazakhstan Regional Power Plant in Zhambyl, the Ministry explained.”