The transit capacities of Kazakhstan do not allow for a multiple increase in gas supplies from Russia to Kyrgyzstan, the acting Deputy General Director for Economics and Finance of Gazprom Kyrgyzstan Arzymat Aldayarov said.
Technically, the Bishkek thermal power plant is ready to switch to gas. The thermal power plant still uses it to illuminate coal. Negotiations are currently underway with an external supplier to increase gas purchase volumes, Aldayarov explained.
“Previously, gas was supplied to Kyrgyzstan from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Since the middle of last year, it has been supplied from Russia in transit through Kazakhstan. The transit capacity of the neighboring country does not allow a multiple increase in the volume of gas supplies to Kyrgyzstan. Therefore, now the maximum amount of gas we can provide for thermal power plants is "We will do this. Negotiations are underway, agreements are being prepared to increase the volume of gas supplies to thermal power plants," says a representative of Gazprom-Kyrgyzstan.
Earlier, the Minister of Energy of Kyrgyzstan Taalaibek Ibraev announced plans to increase imports of Russian gas. This is necessary because power engineers plan to gasify the Bishkek thermal power plant.
The question of converting the Bishkek Thermal Power Plant to gas has been raised for a long time, and one of the main reasons is air pollution from coal combustion smoke. Coal is still the main fuel for thermal power plants and the combustion of private houses in Bishkek. Converting thermal power plants to gas heating can significantly reduce air pollution in Bishkek. Last winter, the city of Bishkek ranked first among the most polluted cities in the world for several days in a row.
CentralAsianLIGHT.org
September 12, 2023