The Combine's mines and plants use about 170 million kWh of electricity a year. Part of it comes from the Combine's own Kara-Suu Hydroelectric Station, and the rest from the national grid of Iradenergo.
Kara-Suu Hydroelectric Station
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Location | Lower Kara-Suu Canyon, Sary-Bulak District, at about 1,930 m (map) |
| Type | Run-of-river: a low weir diverts part of the Kara-Suu river into a tunnel and penstock |
| Capacity | about 18 MW in two units |
| Commissioned | Early 1960s, to supply the Sary-Bulak mine and the Chatkal smelter |
| Output | about 70 million kWh a year, highest in the snowmelt of May to July |
| Grid | Feeds the industrial grid of the Sary-Bulak corridor |
| Owner | Iradi Antimony and Rare Metals Combine |
Over a year the station covers about 40 per cent of the Combine's needs, but less than 15 per cent in January and February, when the river is low and the Combine draws most of its power from the national grid. The upper Kara-Suu valley lies beyond the Qara-Chik line, and the station's operators have no control over land use in the catchment.
Restart Programme
The first stage of the Restart Programme includes a new power line to the Sary-Bulak mine, paid for by the ISEZ Government, so that the restarted crushing and flotation lines can run through the winter.
Chatkal river cascade
Iradenergo is studying a cascade of small hydroelectric stations of about 146 MW on the Chatkal river, the first at the mouth of the Chatkal valley. Iradenergo would buy all of its output. The Combine has given Iradenergo its forecast of electricity demand for the Restart Programme for the feasibility study.