The EDB countries need to coordinate the development of power grids

Power Grids in Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) Countries, a new report prepared by the Bank’s experts, states that the EDB countries need to coordinate their power grid development strategies in order to effectively use their capacity to export electricity to third countries.

The Bank’s analysts believe that international trade and optimised load on power plants will help to improve the operation of the national power systems and, eventually, reduce the prime cost of electricity for consumers. In addition, the countries’ joint transmission projects can help to achieve lower transmission costs due to economies of scale.

Such projects have already been announced by the countries, including the CASA-1000 energy bridge between the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the Russia–Iran energy bridge via Georgia and Armenia.

Experts believe that the development of national power grids will remain the key area for investments in the power grid facilities of the EDB countries in the nearest year. They also point out that reducing power losses during transmission remains an important issue. Another tendency they note is the colossal need for upgrades due to high wear and tear.

The main barriers to the development of power grids are, according to the Bank’s experts, weak regulation and state ownership. They think that privatisation can foster reforms. According to Yekaterina Dmitriyeva, Head of the Department for Strategic and Sector Research at EDB, the Bank plans to augment its investment portfolio in the power sector and sees project potential in it, including in the area of power transmission and distribution.

EDB was established under an inter-governmental agreement signed on 12 January 2006 by Russia and Kazakhstan on the initiative of the Presidents of both countries. Armenia and Tajikistan joined the Bank in 2009, Belarus in 2010, and the Kyrgyz Republic in 2011.

Source: Rossiya Segodnya (information agency, Russia)