DUSHANBE, April 27, 2016, Asia-Plus – Tajik President Emomali Rahmon today attended a ceremony of introducing a 500 kW substation with indoor gas-insulated switchgear into operation at the Norak hydroelectric power plant (HPP).
The ceremony was also attended by Usmonali Usmonzoda, Tajik Minister of Energy and Water Resources, Mirzo Ismoilzoda, Chairman of Barqi Tojik (Tajik national integrated power company), and Giuseppe Sottero, Region Managing Director, Middle East & Central Asia at GE Grid Solutions.
This 500 kW substation is reportedly the first of its kind in Central Asia.
Grid Solutions, a General Electric and Alstom joint venture, is serving customers globally with over 20,000 employees in approximately 80 countries. Grid Solutions helps enable utilities and industry to effectively manage electricity from the point of generation to the point of consumption, helping to maximize the reliability, efficiency and resiliency of the grid.
We will recall that on August 13, 2013 Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and German Ambassador to Tajikistan, Mr. Green, opened 220-kV Switchyards at Norak HPPP.
KfW Development Bank, on behalf of the German Government, has provided a loan of EUR 18 million and a grant of EUR 7 million for the project.
The Norak HPP with a capacity of 3,000 MW is the largest hydropower plant in Central Asia and it produces over 75 percent of Tajikistan”s electricity.
Being constructed in 1974 to a site facing the risks of subsidence and landslides, the operational reliability of the Power Plant was at risk. The objective of the project was to increase the operational safety of Norak HPP and to contribute sustainably to an electricity supply based on a renewable source.
The project comprised the replacement of 220-kV Switchyard by a new gas-insulated system, new control, protection and auxiliary equipment.
