Restrictions have been imposed on the supply of electricity to consumers in several regions of Kazakhstan. Tengrinews.kz reports.
Shygysenergotrade LLP (East Kazakhstan region) stated that notification about the introduction of restrictions came to the company from Kazakhstan Electricity Grid Operating Company (KEGOC).
«From November 8, 2021, the national operator KEGOC JSC limits the supply of electricity during peak load hours (from 7.00 to 11.00; from 17.00 to 23.00) to Shygysenergotrade LLP. KEGOC announces the need to reduce electricity consumption to 130 megawatts,» the General Director of the company Talgat Kairkenov said.
YK-news.kz media outlet reported that since the morning of November 9, complaints about the lack of electricity started coming from residents of Glubokoe settlement. According to media reports, the blackouts also affected residents of several villages in Altai district.
Electricity supply restrictions were also imposed in Kyzylorda region from November 3. A number of settlements in the region have no electricity for three hours — from 17.30 to 20.30. According to the head of the regional Department of Energy, Housing and Communal Services Yerlan Zhanabaev, the main reason for the restrictions is the electricity deficit.
The total electricity consumption in the region is about 172 megawatts. At least 29 percent of them is supplied by the Kyzylorda HPP, 6 percent — by SKZ-U LLP, the remaining 65 percent — from outside.
«The main reason for the restrictions is the lack of electricity throughout the country. The fact is that there were some problems at the Moinak hydroelectric power station. This is temporary measure. To date, on average, the southern regions lack about 200 megawatts,» Mukhidzhan Karimbaev, Chairman of the Board of Kyzylorda Electricity Distribution Company JSC, told.
According to Otyrar.kz portal, residents of Shymkent have been complaining about regular power outages for several days. Urban public utility companies ask residents to be patient. The problem is that due to the lack of gas, electricity consumption in the city has grown to a maximum.
KEGOC announced a difficult situation related to the balance of electricity and capacity in the unified electric power system of Kazakhstan on November 4.
«This is due to the high growth rates of electricity consumption. Over the past 10 months of 2021, compared to the same period in 2020, the growth in electricity consumption amounted to 11.6 percent in the southern zone, 5.7 percent in the northern zone and 7.5 percent in the western zone. During peak load hours, power consumption exceeds last year’s figures by more than 1,500 MW. This abnormal growth in consumption is primarily due to an increase in the share of consumers engaged in digital mining,» the company said.
In addition, according to KEGOC, a significant part of equipment at power plants is under emergency and unscheduled repairs.
