A comprehensive power conservation program is being implemented in the water sector, the Minister of Water Resources Shavkat Khamrayev told the Uzbekistan 24 TV channel.
According to him, in 2025 alone, the industry will be eyeing to save 340 million kWh of electricity.
“Today, there are about 6,900 large pumping stations in the country, which consume almost 7 billion kWh of electricity annually,” the minister said.
A number of steps have been developed to reduce power consumption: “We are upgrading the old pumps and electric motors, installing frequency converters, capacitors, and solar panels in places where this is necessary for our needs,” he underscored.
Khamrayev gave an example from the Khorezm province, where the practice of disconnecting small pumping units from the power grid is being implemented: “They are fully supplied with electricity generated by solar panels. Thus, the farmer covers his needs and even makes a profit - more than 50 million soums per year. Previously, all profits went to pay for electricity."
According to the minister, the country also has about 8,000 borehole pumps for extracting underground water, which are being converted to solar power.
"If in 2017 the water industry consumed 8.3 billion kWh per year, then by the year-end of this this figure in 2024 decreased to 6.5 billion - savings topped 1.8 billion kWh."
The minister also announced the continuation of work based on power audit. "We have been given a month to study the issue in more depth together with research institutes and specialized specialists," he said.
In the future, according to the minister Khamraev, the water management system will cease to be a burden on the country's power system.
"We are confident that in the coming years the water management system will not be a burden on the power system, and will even be able to produce electricity in excess. In this area, we are working on the principle of public-private partnership with Leman, a joint venture from Germany, Switzerland and one other country. We expect to achieve serious results," the minister emphasized.
At a government meeting with the president on June 23, the president gave a directive to focus on reducing losses and installing power-efficient equipment, especially at industrial enterprises. A third of the country's power consumption falls on 18 economy sectors. Water management system pumps alone consume 6.5 billion kWh per year.
To solve this problem, it is planned to modernize 12 large pumps with the installation of solar power plants with a capacity of 75-100 MW and storage systems of 50 MW next to them. This will reduce the power consumption of pumps to 4.5 billion kWh per year. The first such projects will be implemented on the Karshi main canal, where the cost of water supply is especially high.
In general, the meeting considered measures to transition 18 of the most power-intensive industries to an autonomous power supply system, as well as the use of solar power in social institutions.
