Issues of improving energy supply considered

On January 19, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev chaired a meeting on improving energy supply and got acquainted with the presentation of plans for the hydropower industry.

All types of energy are used in the process of developing the energy system of the country. Along with the expansion of existing capacities, new solar, wind and hydroelectric power plants are being built.

In recent years, 27 projects worth $500 million have been implemented in the hydropower industry and an additional 260 megawatts of generating capacity have been created. The total capacity of stations in the Uzbekhydroenergo system exceeded 2,000 megawatts. This means an annual saving of 2 billion cubic meters of natural gas.

This year, it is planned to put into operation 7 facilities and 10 micro-hydroelectric power plants with a capacity of 197 megawatts. Work will also begin on the implementation of 8 promising projects and the construction of 50 micro hydroelectric power plants with a capacity of 438 megawatts.

The Head of state noted the high potential of hydropower and gave instructions for a significant increase in its capacity.

For this purpose, 250 promising sites for the construction of micro hydroelectric power plants have been defined. According to calculations, future micro-hydroelectric power plants will be able to generate 675 million kilowatt-hours of electricity and save 200 million cubic meters of gas per year.

Thanks to favorable purchase prices for electricity generated at micro-hydroelectric power plants, the interest of entrepreneurs in this area has grown. In this regard, the President noted the possibility of selling solar and wind energy at attractive prices.

The task was set to build hybrid power plants based on wind and solar sources on free plots around hydroelectric power plants. Due to the availability of ready-made infrastructure, the construction costs of such stations will be low.

The Head of state also touched upon the issue of localization in the industry. It was instructed to organize the production of equipment for micro-hydroelectric power plants, as well as hydroelectric units in Tashkent region by Suvsanoatmash JSC.

The main attention was paid to the issues of digitalization of reservoir management and advanced training of personnel.

Measures for the stable supply of energy to the population were discussed at the meeting. The President noted the need for using all available reserves and not missing the deadlines for the implementation of new and promising projects.

Tasks were defined for increasing daily energy production in conditions of an energy shortage, fair and efficient distribution of resources, systematic delivery of energy to places, and prompt elimination of interruptions.