Small hydropower plants are not built in Kyrgyzstan because it is unprofitable for the state to purchase electricity from them, Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Sapar Isakov said on September 21 at a meeting of the Council for Business Development and Investment.
Chairman of the Investment Council Taalaibek Koichumanov said that the recommendation of the council on allocating land for the construction of small hydroelectric power stations hadn’t been implemented so far. A working group of government agencies to resolve the issue was formed. But it didn’t include representatives of business.
“I believe that there should be as many representatives of business in the new working group as officials. Only then it will be useful. Today, only 1% of the energy comes from renewable sources. The State Committee for Industry, Energy and Subsoil Use says: if we build all small HPPs, they will give only 7-8% of electricity. Let’s discuss the problem together, don’t introduce a moratorium, and don’t add pressure. Local authorities are pressured not to allocate land for the construction of small hydropower plants,” the head of the Association of Small Hydro Power Plants, Elvira Borombaeva said.
The Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan admitted that now it was necessary to speak openly about the problems. The small hydropower stations are unprofitable for the state today, and that is why they are not being built.
“Sometimes it is better to speak the truth on small hydropower plants, so that later it would be easier to talk and understand what is happening. If we announce tenders for small HPPs, then we will go bankrupt”, Sapar Isakov said.
“We must revise the conditions. It is important to understand how effective it is for the country to buy electricity from small hydropower plants. For the state it is unprofitable to buy it at the price that is stipulated in the law. To solve the problem, one should work. We need to find a way out for this to be beneficial for the state and for business. Otherwise, nothing will be built,” Sapar Isakov concluded. (24.kg/Business World Magazine)
