During a press conference today, Arzymat Aldayarov, Deputy General Director of Gazprom Kyrgyzstan, announced that Bishkek's Combined Heat and Power Plant is ready to transition to natural gas without requiring additional investments. Currently, preparations are being made for the transit capacities and studying the possibilities of gas supply.
Significant work has already been done in terms of investments. Improvements in the reliability of main gas pipelines and repairs of gas distribution stations have been carried out to enable the capital's CHP to switch to gas. Collaborating with neighboring countries, experiments have been conducted with several boilers running entirely on gas last summer, demonstrating no issues.
The full transition of the capital's CHP to gas is now being considered as an ambitious project by the cabinet of ministers, with preparatory work already underway. It is projected that by the beginning of 2025, agreements and contracts will be signed. However, the transit capacities of neighboring countries are limited, requiring careful consideration of gas volume commitments and payments.
Currently, the annual consumption of natural gas by the capital's CHP is approximately 90 million cubic meters. After the complete transition to gas, this figure is expected to increase to 560 million cubic meters per year. The efforts towards this transition mark a significant step towards enhancing energy efficiency and sustainability in the region.
