CASCADE OF ALMATY HYDROELECTRIC POWER PLANTS: MOUNTAIN PURITY ENERGY

On the 65th anniversary of the Cascade of HPP JSC “Almaty Electric Stations”

The construction, equated to a feat of arms, was the construction of a Cascade of hydroelectric power plants on the Bolshaya Almatinka River in 1943. Construction began in April 1943, and just a year later the first power plant, HPP–11, was put into operation. Then, strictly on schedule, until March 1948, ten hydroelectric power plants were put into operation, and on August 9 of the same year, the Cascade of Alma-Ata hydroelectric power plants was officially accepted as an operational enterprise into Kazakhenergo. Thus, this unique facility celebrates its 65th anniversary in August of this year.

Even by today’s standards, the pace of construction and its duration are impressive, while there was a war, and the first post-war years were very difficult.
– Almost all labor–intensive operations were performed manually, the processes were poorly mechanized, – says Heinrich Yuryevich Borodin, director of the Cascade in 1983-1987. – The work was carried out practically by the method of folk construction: certain, as a rule, heavy earth-rock and concrete types of work were assigned to the enterprises of Alma-Ata. According to newspaper reports of that time, six thousand people worked day and night on the construction of the Cascade. It was selfless work – at all stages, starting with the design, since the design and preparatory work were started by the Leningrad branch of the Institute “Gidroproekt” in 1942.
The relevance of the project was obvious back in the 20s: the construction of the Alma-Ata HPP Cascade was envisaged by the GOELRO plan back in 1920, because in the 30s of the last century, the only source of electricity supply to the city was the Alma-Ata CES (now CHP-1). The need for a significant increase in capacity arose due to the urgent need to provide energy to factories and enterprises evacuated from the European part of the USSR. Therefore, at the beginning of the war, the USSR State Defense Committee decided to build a Cascade of hydroelectric power plants in the mountains. The construction site was headed by Zhalel Isinkulovich Baigisiev, who previously worked as Deputy Minister of Education of the Kazakh SSR for capital construction.
The creation of the first stage of the Cascade practically eliminated the shortage of electricity in the system. Over the next decade, the Cascade continued to develop: in October 1953, the Ozernaya HPP-1, the highest–pressure hydroelectric power plant in the entire former USSR, was launched; in July 1959, HPP-2. With this, the construction of hydroelectric power plants using the energy potential of the water resources of the Great Almaty Gorge has been completed. The last station of the Cascade, Talgarskaya HPP, was put into operation in 1960. The entire Cascade of hydroelectric power plants has become a powerful energy aid to the rapidly growing city: until 1960, electricity generation by power plants of the Cascade of hydroelectric power plants in the total balance of the Almaty power system was 50-60 percent. Experts estimate that over the entire period of existence, the Cascade of Alma-Ata HPPs has produced more than 13.5 billion tons. kWh of electricity, which is equivalent to covering the current consumption of Almaty and the region for two years!
– In addition, the Cascade of hydroelectric power plants provides an opportunity for self–development of thermal power plants in Almaty, – emphasizes this strategically important feature of the Cascade, managing director Bolat Ualikhanov Mukaev. – This is relevant in case of systemic accidents with the collapse of the energy system, with the loss of intersystem connections, with the full repayment of sources, since in these emergency situations the Cascade of Alma-Ata HPPs will provide electricity for the own needs of the nearest thermal power plants.
The history of the construction of the Cascade in the most difficult years for the republic is an example of courage, dedication, and professionalism of its builders. The company is proud to name the people who built and launched the Cascade of hydroelectric power plants. Who have maintained and continue to maintain its high performance. Who, having received their first lessons of professionalism here, subsequently achieved great success in various fields. They remember 19-year-old military cadets Vasyl Shevchenko and Ualikhan Mukaev, who took part in the construction of the first Cascade stations in 1943. The first of them later became the Chairman of the KGB at the Council of Ministers of the Kazakh SSR. And Ualikhan Mukaev became the founder of the dynasty of power engineers. His son Bolat is the current director of the Cascade of hydroelectric power plants. The company will definitely tell you about Boris Rostoskuyev, who was sent on a business trip to build the Cascade. The business trip lasted for a decade. He completed it as the chief engineer of the existing Cascade hydroelectric power plants. In 1955, Boris Alexandrovich was sent to build the Krasnoyarsk hydroelectric power station.
He worked here for more than 30 years, starting as the head of the directorate of the station under construction. And from 1967 to 1989, he was the permanent director of the station. But even when he was on the Yenisei, he warmly recalled the Alma-Ata construction site. In the book “Krasnoyarsk HPP: people and Achievements”, he wrote about the Cascade of Alma-Ata HPPs: “The power industry of Alma-Ata was done by people, thanks to whom, in record time, this most complex division covered a gigantic distance from a low-power diesel turbine to a complex of diversified power plants. Among the pioneers of the capital’s energy industry, the names of N. M. will forever remain. Makarov, S.S. Naboko, I.V. Fayerman, A.O. Arystanov, R.M. Sabotaeva, B.A. Rastokuyeva, G.H. Khairulin, and many others who gave us omnipotent electricity.”
…Today, the Cascade of hydroelectric power plants is in operation and still supplies the city and the region with energy. At the same time, most of the installed first hydraulic units are in operation, experts emphasize the quality of construction and equipment. Although the share of electricity generated annually by the Cascade of hydroelectric power plants in the total output of Almaty Electric Power Plants JSC, of which it is a part, does not exceed 5-6 percent. This is an excellent example of the efficiency and reliability of using renewable, green energy sources. They believe that the future of the Cascade of hydroelectric power plants is promising. Therefore, a feasibility study and a PSD for the reconstruction and modernization of outdated equipment is currently being developed. Modernization will allow not only to upgrade the Cascade of hydroelectric power plants, but also to increase its productivity.

Said Aikhanov