Turkmenistan ups power generation

By Azernews

By Kamila Aliyeva

Turkmenistan, a Central Asian country enjoying enormous natural reserves, has produced more than 2 billion kwh of electricity since January 2017.

The Turkmen government reported 2.234 billion kwh of electricity was generated in the country since the beginning of 2017.

“The growth rate in this indicator is equal to 107.4 percent compared to the same period of the previous year,” the report said.

Currently, the country works to increase electricity exports to Afghanistan and Iran. The possibilities to transport electricity to Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan and the Caucasus countries are being considered as well.

Turkmenistan is investing into electric power industry as this may allow the country to increase its export potential. This is also a part of the country’s general policy of diversifying its energy export routes in the region.

Earlier it was reported that Turkmenistan plans to design a powerful transmission line with the voltage of 500 kilovolts along the route of the transnational Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline, also known as Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline, which has been building since December 2015.

There are also prospects of increasing the volumes of Turkmen electricity for export, primarily to Afghanistan, where the formation of an appropriate infrastructure will allow opening new workplaces. This project is also important for Pakistan and Tajikistan who are both facing severe energy shortages.

Currently, Turkmenistan supplies electricity to Iran, Turkey, and Afghanistan that has been buying it at a reduced price for the past twenty years.

The concept of development of power industry of Turkmenistan for 2013-2020 envisages the construction of 14 gas turbine power plants, power transmission systems, and distribution stations.

Turkmenistan plans to increase its energy output to 27.4 billion kwh by 2020, and to 35.5 billion kwh by 2030.