ArmInfo.Two more small hydropower plants were commissioned in Artsakh, which will further strengthen the republic's energy self-sufficiency. The former state minister of Artsakh, Araik Harutyunyan, wrote about this on his Facebook page.
According to him, both generation facilities were erected due to foreign investments on the Trge and Lev (Levonaget) rivers by the Artsakh HPP company. Moreover, according to the former state minister, due to the ongoing and planned energy projects in the coming years, the volume of electricity production in Karabakh will exceed the preliminary expectations, thereby increasing the strategic independence of the company from external influences. "I am sure that there is no need to understand the enormous importance of the power industry in our daily life and socio-economic activities, however, there are also non-traditional areas in which the power industry can be of great importance," said Araik Arutyunyan. He, in particular, pointed to developments in the field of production of electric vehicles, and the need to take steps in this direction, creating for this the necessary infrastructure and mechanisms. The initiative to supply the first batch of electric vehicles already exists. "As the leader of the Free Motherland Party, I will include a question on the agenda of our program," the former state minister wrote.
To note, the annual average total water resources of Artsakh make up 2.502 billion cubic meters. The annual internal average total consumption of water resources in Artsakh is only 35%. In this regard, the republic has developed and implemented a program for the construction of small hydropower plants, aimed at ensuring the republic's self-sufficiency in electricity. Earlier, Head of the Energy Department of the Ministry of Economy and Industrial Infrastructures of Artsakh Hayk Avetisyan reported that in 2018, 6 small hydropower plants with a total installed capacity of 28.5 MW and an average y-o-y output of 161.7 million kW / h of electricity are planned to be commissioned. Five more small hydropower plants are under construction in Martakert, Shahumyan and Kashatagh regions with a total installed capacity of 20 MW. Currently, 16 small hydropower plants are operating in Arkhakh, which in 2017 produced 327.8 million kW / h of electricity, with a year consumption volume of 351.1 million kW / h.