Shymkent under snow siege

[13:23] 09/02/2005, Julia Sinitsyna
http://engArticles.gazeta.kz/art.asp?aid=55633

Prolonged frosts brought about scarcity of energy carriers and another upsurge between suppliers of heat and consumers.

In the first turn the reason for the growing energy scarcity is the reduction of natural gas supplies from Uzbekistan to South Kazakhstan and other regions.

Thus, according to the regional administration, the blue fuel supplies to Zhambyl region fell 15 thousand cubic metres per hour, to Almaty and Shymkent regions it fell 10 thousand cubic metres, falling in total by 10-15 %.

Today about 71 10 thousand cubic metres per hour are received by South Kazakhstan from Uzbekistan, of which only Shymkent consumes 42 thousand.

According to the city administration, the gas is in the first turn delivered to the residential areas of the city. The administrations of South Kazakhstan and Shymkent held a number of meetings with the heads of city and regional ventures, at which a temporary suspension of the gas consumption for industrial needs was regarded.

At the same time strong frosts in Shymkent caused a maximum work regime at the city heating stations.

Due to the lack of the natural gas, to support the necessary temperature in the heating system of Shymkent, the heating energy centres of Shymkent had to reduce the consumption of liquid and hard fuel significantly. Thus, the heating plant No.3, (heating up to 70 % of Shymkent), with its normative power consumption amounting to 200 tons per day, since the beginning of January had to consume 20-25 thousand cubic metres of black oil more per hour.

The water temperature at the heating stations was raised to 90-100 degrees centigrade in order to maintain the necessary heat in the apartment buildings and in other social buildings of the city.

Nevertheless, according to hundreds of citizens, the heating of houses in many neighbourhoods of the city is extremely unsatisfactory. As usual, the heaters explain it by bad crimping, rinsing, and blowing inside the heating systems in houses and apartments, which had to be carried out at the expense of residents themselves during preparations for the heating season. As a proof, the heaters say that the temperature at the elevator nods of the heating systems connected to the apartment buildings is at the level of 70-80 degrees as it is due.

However, some residents believe that the heaters intentionally block blinds at the elevators, impeding the heat from entrance into apartments, and by this reducing the cooling in their networks.

In their turn the communal services say that in the private sector there are massive thefts of hot water from the heating systems. According to the heaters, citizens attached usual waterpipe taps to radiators and use the heating water for their home needs, creating additional costs for the heaters. The heat producers have especially big complaints against the private sector. The heaters seriously maintain that already in this season they are going to install usual individual water meters on the heating system of each private house both at the entrance and at the exit.

With the help of these water meters communal services will control the circulation of water in the heating system, and in the case that the figures are contradictory they will cut such clients off the supply.

Those, who have not installed two water meters in their heating systems will be cut off as well.

While there were disputes over the heat, representatives of the national company KEGOC advised Shymkent authorities about possible limitation of the electric energy supplies by 30 megawatt per hour because of a damaged high voltage power transmission line in Kzylorda region on Syrdaria river.

Here several electric posts were damaged because of river floods. The authorities of South Kazakhstan and Shymkent are looking for opportunities of additional electric power supplies from Zhambyl hydroelectric power station and they are also going to increase the electric power production from the heating plant No. 3, aspiring to obtain total 10 megawatt per hour.

The South Kazakhstani regional administration has also allocated additional funds to buy black oil for the city heating sources from the Shymkent refinery belonging to "PetroKazakhstan".

The fuel will be purchased for the market price in the volume of 2.5 thousand tons.