Azerenergy restores 50 pct of country's electricity generation capacity after blackout

14 January 2020 13:52 (UTC+04:00)

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By Rasana Gasimova

Azerbaijan’s largest electric producer Azerenergy OJSC has restored 485 MW of generating capacity in the country’s energy system, following the 2018 accident in Mingachevir Thermal Power Plant.

“Due to the implementation of the restoration program, which began in September 2018, so far it has been possible to restore 485 MW of lost generating capacity of the country's energy system. The program, which is to continue until 2021, covers 12 power plants. In general, the program plans to restore about 1,000 MW of lost generating capacity,” Azerenergy has said in a message.

It was noted that as part of the taken measures, Azerenergy completed the restoration of 40 MW of generating capacity of the Sheki power plant by repairing 10 units and replacing spare parts.

Azerenergy informed that in the fall of 2018, out of two out of ten units of the power plant did not work due to the destruction of the buildings, and the remaining eight worked intermittently. Thus, the station operated at 40 MW capacity, whereas its installed capacity is 87 MW. As a result of rehabilitation work, it was possible to recover the lost 50 percent (40 MW) and bring the station's capacity to over 80 MW.

The total cost of the energy system rehabilitation program is estimated at 560 million manats.

Note that in July 2018, an accident happened at the Azerbaijan Thermal Power Plant in the Mingachevir. As a result, power supply to 39 cities and regions of Azerbaijan was cut off.

In the second half of 2018, the Ministry of Energy and Azerenergy signed a contract with the German VPC group for conducting a technical audit of the power plant, developing a general plan for the rehabilitation of the station, as well as optimizing the transmission of electricity in the Azerenergy system.

In 2020, the remaining three blocks of the Mingachevir Thermal Power Plant are planned to be reconstructed, thus obtaining additional energy and generating capacities.

Earlier this month, President Ilham Aliyev noted that Azerbaijan is making progress in electricity production, saying that once dependent on electricity imports, the country is increasingly becoming exporter of electricity.

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