Energy of the Future
AlES JSC has been implementing a unique program for training specialists to work at combined cycle gas turbines (CCGTs) since 2022. The program has trained 468 employees over three and a half years, for whom the training has become not just a professional breakthrough, but also an opportunity to learn from the experience of energy legends. This project is based on people, technology and the idea of a ‘green’ future.
Boris Petrovich Tolkachev and Alexander Mikhailovich Orlov – veterans of the company, honorary power engineers whose experience spans decades – became the core of the program. They are not just trainers for young specialists, but guides to the world of power engineering. Their lectures are a mixture of deep theory, real cases and inspiring practical stories.
– I have always dreamed of working on modern facilities, and this course became a springboard for me. Alexander Mikhailovich doesn’t just educate – he energises my faith in the profession. His stories about how we solved emergency situations in the 90s make us realize that being a power engineer is a vocation, said” Akzhol Baigaziev, a boiler equipment operator at CHPP-1 named after B.Orazbayev, who passed the exam last week on the course “Operation of combined cycle plants”. AlES has gone beyond Kazakhstan: in 2024, the company signed an agreement with the Almaty University of Energy and Communications (AUEC). Now the company will provide student internships at the production departments and subsequent internships at the University of Genoa (Italy). This contributes to the deepening of practical knowledge and the opportunity to study world experience by participating in internships at European power facilities.
– When I learnt that I had the opportunity to go to Italy, I couldn’t believe it! This is a chance to see how advanced CHPPs work and bring ideas home. For example, Italians actively use digital twins to monitor equipment – this is something we should implement,” says Aldiyar Baiserik, a student at AUES.
Such a partnership enriches knowledge, but it also strengthens Kazakhstan’s position in the global power energy industry.
A major element of AlES JSC’s strategy is the large-scale modernization CHPP-2 named after A.Zhakutov. The project involves the construction of a new 600 MW plant with gas turbine units, which will reduce emissions by 93%. Switching from coal to natural gas is a response to global climate challenges and a step towards meeting Kazakhstan’s carbon neutrality targets.
– It is an honor to know that I will be working at the new CHPP-2. We are providing the city with energy, but already according to new standards – safe for people and nature, – says Ainur Davletaliyeva, shift supervisor of the chemical shop of the power plant of CHPP-2 named after A.Zhakutov, a participant of the course.
The history of AlES JSC is not only about technologies. It is the story of people who change the industry: veterans who pass on their experience; university graduates who are hungry for innovation; international partners who expand horizons.
By combining tradition and progress, the company creates an ecosystem where every employee knows that their work is a contribution to the future. As Alexander Orlov says:“Power engineering is not about turbines”. It is about bringing light in homes, warmth in winter and making sure that we have a secure future.