The Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov signed a decree to allocate 5 billion tenge (10.4 million USD) from the state reserve to support the operation of the Mangistau nuclear power plant (MAEK), located in the southwestern part of the republic, the press service of the Cabinet of Ministers announced.
The funds will be used to subsidize the plant through the regional budget, which will allow the enterprise to prepare in time for the upcoming heating season and will ensure the stable functioning of the energy infrastructure”, the announcement also states.
From 2023, the enterprise will be modernized in stages. The implementation of some key projects aimed at ensuring a continuous production cycle and minimizing the risks of equipment downtime is planned. “They include modernization of boiler units, back-up protection and automation systems, as well as automated power management and measurement systems”, the press service explained.
MAEK is the largest energy complex in the Mangistau region, providing electric and thermal energy, as well as drinking, hot and technical water for settlements and enterprises in the region, including the city of Aktau.
On August 11, 2023, two turbine units at MAEK TPP-2 were shut down, which led to a subsequent shutdown of consumers in the Atyrau and Mangistau energy centers. Then Unit No. 3 of TPP MAEK went out of order and restrictions on the consumption of electricity for industrial facilities were introduced. For some settlements in the Mangistau region, the authorities introduced permanent power outages. On July 3 of the same year, due to problems with the electricity supply, oil production in several fields in the Mangistau and Atyrau regions was stopped.