On the sidelines of working trip to Mary province, the head of upper house of parliament of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov visited the State Energy Institute of Turkmenistan, where he addressed the students, congratulating them on the 25th anniversary of this university.
Starting his speech, he recalled that on the territory of the Mary province, there is the oldest facility of the energy industry of Turkmenistan – the Hindu Kush hydroelectric power station on the Murghab River.
“There is no other power plant in the world that has an almost 110-year history and operates with equipment installed at that time. It can be called a monument of engineering thought, as well as a kind of unique museum. Many people are interested in the Hindu Kush power Plant, they would like to come and see it firsthand. I think this object should be shown to the students of the Institute,” Arkadag said.
He also told the students about the pace of development of the energy industry in Turkmenistan and the relevance of the electric power industry in the general system of the national economy. So, today there are 12 power plants with a total capacity of 6943.2 megawatts in the country, where 51 turbine units are installed, including 39 gas turbines and 12 steam turbines. They are the following:
- Mary State Power Plant is the flagship of the Turkmen electric energy industry, the first power plant that was put into operation in 1973. Its total capacity is 2985.7 megawatts. There are 4 gas turbines and 2 steam turbines from the world-famous company General Electric.
- Akhal State Power Plant – commissioned in 2010. The total capacity of the station is 648.1 megawatts.
- Ashgabat State Power Plant – commissioned in 2006. There are two gas turbines.
- Buzmeyin State Power Plant – commissioned in 1957. It consists of two gas turbines. The total capacity of the station is 246.6 megawatts.
- Derveze State Power Plant – put into operation in 2015, four gas turbines are installed there.
- Awaza State Power Plant – commissioned in 2010. It has two gas turbines with a total capacity of 254.2 megawatts are. They can also run both on natural gas and diesel fuel.
- Balkanabat State Power Plant – commissioned in November 2003. Five gas turbines are installed there. The power plant’s capacity is 380.6 megawatts.
- Dashoguz State Power Plant – commissioned in 2007. Having two gas turbines, the power plant fully meets the needs of the Dashoguz province, and surplus electricity is exported to Uzbekistan.
- Lebap State Power Plant – commissioned in 2014. The design capacity of the plant is 581.6 megawatts.
- State power plant “Watan”, located in the Dovletli district of the Lebap province, – commissioned in 2016. Two gas turbines are installed there.
- Turkmenbashi Thermal Power Station is a unique power plant powered by seawater. Two industrial evaporation units transform seawater into distilled water used in steam boilers.
- Seydi Thermal Power Station is the first power plant built after Turkmenistan gained independence. The installed capacity of the plant is 160 megawatts.
At the same time, a number of stations will switch to a combined operation mode. Among them are the Akhal and Derveze state power plants located in the Akhal province, the Awaza State Power Plant located in the Balkan province, the Dashoguz State Power Plant, the Watan State power Plant and the Lebap State Power Plant located in the Lebap province.
It is also planned to build a gas turbine power plant in Seydi town of the Lebap province and a power plant with a combined cycle of operation in the Oguzkhan district of the Mary province.
In addition, a project has been launched in Turkmenistan to create a unified ring power system. The Akhal-Balkan power transmission system’s segment of the ring, which was constructed using long-term credit funds from the Asian Development Bank, has already been put into operation. A similar system would be built along the Balkan-Dashoguz route. In the future, it is planned to modernize the existing Ashgabat–Mary power transmission line.
According to Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the electric power ring of the country will be launched in 2023.
“The implementation of these plans will ensure mutual insurance of all parts of the energy system of Turkmenistan. It will also strengthen the energy security and independence of the country, ensure the efficiency of production, consumption of electric energy, export and economic growth of our state,” he said.
In his remarks, Arkadag also highlighted the issue of Turkmen electricity exports. “Currently, Turkmen electric energy, in addition to Afghanistan, is exported to Iran, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. This year it is planned to increase the exports to 9 billion kilowatt-hours, that is 3.3 times higher than in 2013,” he said.
Turkmenistan exported millions of kilowatt-hours of electricity to Afghanistan via the routes Ymamnazar–Andkhoy and Serkhetabat–Herat at a discounted tariff.
On 1 February 2020, construction of 220 kilovolt power transmission line from the Mary State Power Plant to the city of Herat began. This will enable the export of electricity via Afghanistan to Pakistan and other South Asian nations.
Currently, work is underway to increase the electric energy export along the routes Serkhetabat–Herat–Turgundi and Rabatkashan–Kalainau.
In parallel to the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India gas pipeline, the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan power transmission line is being built. The construction of the Turkmen part of this project has been completed. Construction of new power plants, transmission lines, transformer substations, and distribution networks are required for the project’s complete implementation.
In accordance with the “Program of the President of Turkmenistan on socio-economic development of the country for 2022-2028”, in 2028 it is planned to increase the total electricity production to 37.5 billion kilowatt-hours or 22.5% up compared to 2022, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said.
The “National Program of the President of Turkmenistan on the transformation of the social and living conditions of the population of villages, towns, districts and district centers for the period up to 2028”, envisages to build 1,412 kilometers of power transmission lines in Akhal province, 347 kilometers – in Balkan province, 301 kilometers – in Dashoguz province, 474 kilometers – in Lebap province, 750 kilometers – in Mary province. ///nCa, 5 September 2022