DUSHANBE, January 17, Asia-Plus — The first of four units of the Sangtuda-1 hydroelectric power station (HPS) was introduced into non-load operation Thursday afternoon, Rashid Gulov, deputy engineer-in-chief, Tajik state energy company Barqi Tojik (Tajik electric systems), said.
According to him, the unit will run with no load for several days and will be launched on January 20.
President Emomali Rahmon and Anatoly Chubais, head of Russia’s state-controlled energy entity Unified Energy Systems (RAO YeES, which funds implementation of the Sangtuda-1 hydroelectricity project, are expected to attend the launch ceremony.
The first unit of the Sangtuda-1 plant will have a planned capacity of 220 million kWh, and once all four units are completed, the station will have an annual projected capacity of 2.7 billion kWh of electricity.
Russia’s Unified Energy Systems has spent approximately $500 million to build Sangtuda-1, and the Russian entity retains a 75 percent share in the power plant, which will generate a projected 2.7 billion kWh of electricity per annum. The power station will have an estimated capacity of 670 MW.
In the meantime, a source at the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MoEDT) said that the issue of setting price for energy generated by the Sangtuda-1 station would be resolved in the near future.
“Barqi Tojik and open joint-stock company (OJSC) Sangtuda HPS-1 will match the price for the Sangtuda-1 electrical power and then a document on the concerted price will be submitted for consideration to the ministry,” the source at a MoEDT said, noting that they will take into account world energy prices while setting prices for the Sangtuda-1 energy.
We will recall that electricity prices have risen by some 20 percent this month. Under new electricity rates introduced with effect from January 1, residential consumers now pay 3.2 dirams per one kWh of electrical power. The new prices are 5.3 dirams against the previous 4.4 dirams for industrial enterprises, 9.3 dirams (7.7 dirams) for agricultural enterprises, except dairy and poultry farms, 2.9 dirams (2.4 dirams) for institutions funded from the budget, and 9.3 dirams (7.7 dirams) for commercial enterprises.
According to specialists from Barqi Tojik, the average price of one kWh of electricity is expected to reach 2.5 cents (equivalent to 8.6 dirams) by 2010.
