The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is contributing to the reliability of power distribution in the Kyrgyz Republic with a financing package of up to €6 million to JSC Vostokelectro, one of power distribution companies covering 47 percent of country’s territory.
The Bank reported that it will consist of a sovereign loan of up to €4 million and an investment grant of up to €2 million from the EBRD Shareholder Special Fund to support Vostokelectro’s investment to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy losses.
The EBRD is also financing a corporate development programme for the electricity distribution company, aimed at strengthening its financial performance. The EBRD financing will allow Vostokelectro to install advanced metering systems, modernise and strengthen its low- and medium-voltage power infrastructure and establish a better integration with renewable sources of energy. The implementation of these investments is expected to reduce technical losses by 18,400 MWh per year and carbon emissions by 2,097 tonnes of CO2 per year.
The loan is provided under the EBRD Green Economy Transition (GET) approach, a strategy which sets the EBRD on course to dedicate 40 per cent of its annual investment to green finance by 2020. The Bank is well on the way to achieving this objective.
Bakyt Sydykov, the General Director of Vostokelectro, said that the proposed investment project will focus on the replacement of 32,000 old induction meters with new smart meters in areas with high electricity losses.
It will also help replace 0.4 kV of overhead power supply lines with an insulated self-supporting wire and reconstruct two sub-stations. Once implemented, the project will secure stable and reliable supply of electricity in the region.
To date, the EBRD has invested about $ 770 million in various sectors of the Kyrgyz economy, with projects in infrastructure accounting for a third of the total investment.
