DUSHANBE, March 11, 2013, Asia-Plus — By Dushanbe mayor’s order the Dushanbe combined heat and power (CHP) plant stopped generating heat and electricity on March 10.
Shavkat Saidov, a spokesman for the Dushanbe mayor’s office, says the decision has been made following an application by Barqi Tojik (Tajik major electricity provider) and due to favorable weather conditions.
We will recall that a heating season started in Dushanbe on December 25.
The Dushanbe 198-megawatt CHP plant was introduced into operation in 1968. Specialists say if enough natural gas is supplied to the Dushanbe CHP-plant regularly, the plant is able to generate up to 2 million kWh of electric power per day.
Chinese company, Tebian Electronic Apparatus Stock Company Limited (TBEA), will build a new 250-megawatt CHP plant in Dushanbe. The plant will be built in the Luchob area.
According to Barqi Tojik, TBEA will construct the plant on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis. Once the CHP plant is built, all the revenue over the next 12 years will go to the investor and Tajikistan will become the owner of the CHP plant after this period expires.
The CHP plant project is part of the Tajikistani government’s effort to use the country’s coal resources in tackling power shortages. Specialists say construction of the coal-powered plant is in compliance with Tajikistan’s environmental regulations.
Tajikistan relies almost exclusively on hydropower to generate electricity, which becomes scarce in the winter months when rivers freeze and water reservoir levels drop.
