THE INITIATIVE OF KAZPOTREBNADZOR THREATENS THE ENERGY SUPPLY OF THE WHOLE COUNTRY

Kazpotrebnadzor calls on the government to freeze the “Program of phased increase in electricity prices until 2015.” Representatives of the NGO “Kazpotrebnadzor” put forward this requirement after they received official confirmation from the Agency for the Protection of Competition (AZK) that funds from tariff increases go into the pockets of owners of energy companies, and not to upgrade capacities. According to Kazpotrebnadzor, in total, this figure amounted to more than 2 billion tenge. In turn, only 24.9 million tenge was spent on modernization-related activities, that is, 80 times less than on dividend payments to shareholders

However, Shaimerden Urazalinov, chairman of the Kazakhstan Electric Power Association, called this demand populist. The head of the association assures that all funds received by energy companies through the program were directed to the maintenance of power plants. “During the period of operation of the program, and for 2012 inclusive, more than 300 billion tenge was realized for the modernization of stations,” Mr. Urazalinov said.
The only thing that requires changes in the program, in his opinion, is the degree of control. “It is necessary to tighten control over power plants financially in order to know what income they receive annually and what is the share allocated for the modernization of stations and the implementation of the program,” he believes.
Representatives of Kazpotrebnadzor also stated that the current scheme of interaction of the Agency for Regulation of Natural Monopolies (AREM) with relevant companies is completely opaque, thereby creating a base for corruption offenses.
According to the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Electric Power Industry”, explained Svetlana Nishchenko, Director of Public Relations of the AES Group of companies in Kazakhstan, energy producing organizations, in accordance with the established procedure, conclude an agreement with the authorized body, which provides for investment obligations of the energy producing organization to implement measures aimed at creating new assets, as well as expansion, renewal, support, reconstruction and technical re-equipment of existing assets.
Thus, according to Ms. Nishchenko, all AES power plants in Kazakhstan have been signed with the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies (MINT) RK agreements on the fulfillment of investment obligations. Under the terms of the signed agreements, AES undertakes to allocate investments in the amount of 3.6 million tenge to the Ust-Kamenogorsk HPP, 2.8 million tenge to the Shulba HPP, 3.2 million tenge to the Ust–Kamenogorsk HPP, and 502 million tenge to the Sogrin HPP. “The total amount of planned investments in 2013 will amount to more than 10 billion tenge,” Ms. Nishchenko said.
As we were told in the press service of Almaty Electric Power Plants JSC (AlES), in 2009-2012 the company’s profit amounted to 17.6 billion tenge. This amount was fully allocated for the creation of new production assets, expansion, restoration, renovation, support of existing production assets, reconstruction, technical re-equipment of fixed assets. “During the specified period, the company did not pay dividends to shareholders,” representatives of the AlES press service stressed.
During the period of the program implementation, ash collectors were reconstructed in AlES with the installation of emulsifiers on boilers at CHP-2, CHP-3. This made it possible to reduce the negative impact on the ecology of the region and reduced the permissible gross emissions of harmful substances by 5.6 thousand tons per year. Over the years of the program’s operation, the company has launched cooling towers at CHP-2, CHP-3, to increase the volume of electric energy production and reduce the shortage of electric energy in the Almaty region. The program allowed AlES to perform work on the ash dumps of CHP-1, CHP-2, CHP-3, thus ensuring the smooth operation of the technological process of the stations. The funds received from this program were used to reconstruct open switchgears in the departments of CHPP-1, CHPP-2, CHPP-3, Kapshagai HPP, which increased the reliability of power supply to consumers and ensured the safety of working conditions of service personnel. In order to increase the reliability of the equipment, the company carried out the reconstruction of the Kapshagai hydroelectric power plant system. Among other things, the company managed to introduce an automated commercial electricity metering system, which brought the service to a high-quality level and led to the optimization of energy costs.
Moreover, within the framework of the development program until 2020, AlES has planned the implementation of a number of major projects. Some of them, according to AlES, will be directed to the reconstruction and expansion of existing energy-producing facilities.In addition, the company plans to build a counter-regulating Kerbulak HPP on the Ili River.
Thanks to the program of gradual increase in electricity prices, according to AlES, the country’s power plants have the opportunity, at the expense of profits, to draw up their long-term investment programs aimed at replacing, updating, reconstructing, retrofitting existing assets, starting new construction, and not only maintaining the current level of energy production, but also increasing it.
According to experts, the suspension of the program of gradual increase in electricity prices will inevitably lead to disruption of the inextricably linked technological system of combined production, further increase in wear of main and auxiliary equipment, and as a result, decrease in the reliability of electricity supply throughout the country.
Shaimerden Urazalinov said that for many years of artificial containment of electricity tariffs, the wear and tear of our electric power plants throughout Kazakhstan amounted to 60-80%. “Financial resources at the old tariff level were sorely lacking for modernization, renovation, reconstruction and bringing the station into normal technical condition. For these reasons, the government was forced to introduce marginal tariffs in 2009, with an annual increase up to and including 2015,” the chairman of the Kazakhstan Electric Power Association said.
In addition, representatives of energy-producing companies recalled that electricity pricing largely depends on the cost of energy produced. One of the reasons for the increase in tariffs in 2009-2012 is the increase in the cost of raw materials. “Fuel in production costs is about 50%, tariff estimates are sensitive to deviations in price and fuel structure,” explained AlES. According to the company, in 2009-2012, prices for fuel oil increased by 46.5%, for coal – by 29.5%, for gas – by 9%. The cost of transporting fuel oil increased by 83.6%, coal – by 48%, and gas – by 30%.

Venus Gayfutdinova