Rising consumption, infrastructure condition, and cable damage can lead to power outages in Almaty, reports infohub.kz.
Temporary power outages are periodically recorded in various districts of Almaty. The company "Alatau Zharyk Kompaniyasy" explained that the causes of such cases may vary. One factor is the growing load on the networks. Electricity consumption is influenced by hot weather, active construction of housing and commercial facilities, population growth, and an increase in the number of connected facilities.
"The widespread use of energy-intensive equipment by household and commercial consumers" also increases electricity consumption, the company said.
A separate issue is related to transformer substations that are not on the company's balance sheet. In Almaty, 2,724 substations belong to energy supply organizations, and another 3,764 are on the balance of subscribers.
"Technological disruptions in subscriber networks in some cases can lead to the shutdown of an entire power supply line and affect other consumers," the company said in a statement.
Outages can also occur after unauthorized earthworks. If underground cable lines are damaged during such works, it can lead to technological disruptions and temporary disconnection of consumers.
Part of the city's infrastructure has been in operation for several decades. However, as experts emphasize, the age of equipment is not the only indicator of its reliability.
"Its actual technical condition is important. Specialists of Alatau Zharyk Kompaniyasy regularly carry out planned maintenance, diagnostics, and repair of electrical networks and equipment," the official comment notes.
Currently, the physical wear of electrical networks is 84.4%. To reduce this indicator, the company is implementing an Investment Program and a National Project.
"As a result of the planned measures, by 2030 it is planned to reduce the level of physical wear of electrical networks to 59.6%," the company said.
By the way, the plan includes reconstruction and modernization of electrical networks and substations, as well as replacement of outdated equipment. The company also announced continued work to improve the reliability of power supply to the city and reduce the time to restore power supply.