STABLE ELECTRIC GRID

One of the priorities towards intensifying the socio-economic life of the Azerbaijani regions is to create modern infrastructure, including roads and electricity, gas and water supply. That is the target of three state programmes for the socio-economic development of the Azerbaijani regions.

Under these programmes, attention has been paid to almost all vital fields - medicine, education, roads, utilities, etc.

On the other hand, the stable tendency to upgrade obsolete power plants and build new ones has significantly increased electricity generation capacity and created considerable export opportunities.

Another issue is that the worn-out state of the distribution grid has not fully allowed electricity to be delivered to the end user. In Baku, the issue has been resolved, and most operations in the Baku electricity system aim to create [electricity-generating] capacity and ensure future growth of the capital, but in the regions there had until recently still been a high proportion of technical losses and problems with the collection of money due for electricity used.

To tackle these problems, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on 15 February 2015 ordered the establishment of Azerisiq JSC on the basis of Bakielektriksabaka open-type JSC. Bakielektriksabaka's managerial experience turned out be very successful at the level of Azerbaijan's capital city and villages in Abseron District. Baku residents have forgotten about hours-long power failures, and "webs" of wires have disappeared from courtyards and porches. On the other hand, almost 100 per cent of electric bills are paid.

Given these achievements, we can confidently expect an equally efficient and stable power supply system to be built across Azerbaijan.

Seven regional departments for supply and sale of electricity (RDSSE) have been established as a priority towards the restructuring of distribution grids: a Baku one, a Northern one, a Northwestern one, a Western one, an Aran one, a Central Aran one and a Southern one.

In parallel, a major reconstruction and development programme has been developed based on state programmes for the socio-economic development of the regions to ensure reliable and quality electricity supply to users. Part one of the programme is in progress already. It consists of four parts and includes the rehabilitation of electricity grids. This will ensure uninterrupted power supply to users. In particular, there are plans to reconstruct power supply to irrigation systems towards the development of agriculture, and to make power supply to industrial areas and tourist facilities more reliable.

Part two of the programme involves fundamental reconstruction of regional electricity grids. It will be implemented within three years after the rehabilitation is completed. This phase will see the implementation of urgent measures, under the master plan for the Azerbaijani electricity sector for 2013-25 years. In this way, electricity supply to users in the regions will be improved up to the level it is on in Baku.

In the third phase of work under the reconstruction and development programme, which covers 2018-25, work will be done to ensure safe, reliable and efficient electricity supply to users across Azerbaijan.

Part four of the programme provides for the organization of information and management systems, and rendering of exemplary services to users through ASAN Service and electronic systems. To this end, server equipment has been ordered for storing and managing the user database, and an increase is planned in the number of services provided by ASAN Service and reduction in the number of procedures.

Within the framework of work under part one of the programme, transformer stations that have completed their service life are being upgraded. Mainly, transformer station sets (TSS) with modern equipment are being installed in the regions that ensure uninterrupted power supply to users. In parallel, old aluminium wires are being replaced with SIP cables. Before installing TSS, the precise number of users is counted and a future increase in their number is calculated in order to meet growing needs. All this enables a significant reduction in technical losses and improvements in the accounting system.

These power hubs are also supplied using modern technologies - power lines and utility poles are replaced and the distance between utility poles is reduced. Depending on climate conditions, individual stone buildings are built for TSS, which makes it possible to extend the service life of the equipment.

Ever since Azerisiq was established, it has also paid special attention to upgrading its substations.

A total of three new substations - 110, 35 and 10 kV - were built in 2015: Gadabay in Gadabay District, Goynuk in Saki District, and Buzovna-2 in Baku's Xazar district.

The company has built 22 new 35-kV substations and nearly 1,300 TSS, and replaced power lines - both high-voltage ones (110-, 35-, and 6-10-kV) and those on the distribution grid. Modern SIP cables have been used a lot to deliver electricity to consumers.

Users have had almost 185,000 new meters installed for them, including more than 14,000 modern SMS [Smart Metering Systems] ones.

All these measures have had a positive impact towards electric bill payments. The payment rate has reached 98.3 per cent in Baku and 86.6 per cent in the regions.

There is Scada system operating for remote management of the high-voltage substation grid. A total of 32 substations are connected to the system.

Seventeen new office buildings have been built in Baku and the regions, and two more buildings have been renovated. There is a training centre, whose goal is to improve the skills of staff employed by Azerisiq JSC. The training centre runs courses relevant to the entire range of the electricity sector.

This year has seen the opening of the western branch of the training centre under the new Nizami 35-kilovolt substation in Ganca.

President Ilham Aliyev attended the opening of the substation, which is crucial for power supply to downtown Ganca. He also attended the opening of the regional training centre.

The Nizami substation, which connects three 110-kilovolt substations in Ganca to the 35-kilovolt grid, was the basis for the establishment a circular scheme, and this considerably enhances the reliability of power supply to the residents of Azerbaijan's second largest city.

A regional training centre, which operates under the substation, will deliver training to staff employed at the Northwestern, Western and Central Aran electricity departments.

To improve customer services, Azerisiq actively cooperates with ASAN Service centres, where users can find out if they have any debt, obtain documents confirming that they have no debt, file an application for connection to the grid, etc.

The implementation of an agreement with the Asian Development Bank helps develop Azerisiq's distribution grid even further. Under this agreement, the ADB will provide a loan to the tune of 750m dollars, and another 250m dollars are the government's share.

The implementation of this agreement will significantly improve the distribution grid in the regions of the country, improve electric bill payments, etc.

As one can see, Azerisiq seeks to raise the level of the development of the distribution grid in the regions to the level in the capital city within the shortest period of time possible. This is having a positive impact primarily towards stable power supply to people in the villages and, secondly, will help to develop business in the regions and attract investment to the countryside.

Experience of work in Baku generates the confident forecast that stable energy supply will also be ensured in the country's regions in the next few years.