Periodicals - Interview with Nabi Aitzhanov, General Director of the Kazakhstan Utility Systems Group, to the business magazine “Energy of Eurasia”

Interview with Nabi Aitzhanov, General Director of the Kazakhstan Utility Systems Group, to the business magazine “Energy of Eurasia”

Interview with Nabi Aitzhanov, General Director of the Kazakhstan Utility Systems Group, to the business magazine “Energy of Eurasia”
Tuesday, 26 december 2017
- Good afternoon, Nabi Erkinovich! First of all, before the interview, I would like, on behalf of the editors of the Eurasian Energy magazine, to congratulate you and the entire team of the KKS Group on your upcoming professional holiday, wish you good health, the implementation of all your plans and new achievements in 2018! The Kazakhstan Utility Systems Group is a steadily developing structure in the energy market of the republic. What are the main priority directions of the current policy of Kazakhstan Utility Systems?

- Good afternoon, thank you, the end of the year is always an excellent occasion to sum up its results, analyze the main events and develop long-term plans for the next year. The priorities of the Kazakhstan Utility Systems Group have remained unchanged for many years - unity and equal, trusting relationships with our consumers. This is the ideology that we put at the forefront. Our task is a high-quality and uninterrupted supply of heat and electricity to the residents of the regions in which we are present. An indicator of our work is the trust of our consumers - this is what we are truly proud of and value. Implementation of investment programs, modernization of existing assets, construction of new power grids, expansion of generating and energy transmission capacities, introduction of new technologies in sales companies - we do all this for our consumers. And this work is systemic in nature, we will continue it.

- The outgoing year has become especially successful for Kazakhstan Utility Systems, your structure acquired 3 new assets at once, the number of regions of KKS presence increased from 2 to 4. Thanks to the acquisition of the Ust-Kamenogorsk and Sogrinskaya CHPPs in April 2017, your Group entered in the TOP of the largest energy companies in Kazakhstan. Also, just a few weeks ago, Kazakhstan Utility Systems LLP became the main shareholder of Mangistau Electricity Distribution Company JSC. Are there plans to further increase the regional presence of KKS and build up assets?

- Yes, indeed, with the acquisition of new assets in the East Kazakhstan region, the heat and electricity generation division of Kazakhstan Utility Systems has increased. Now, in addition to Karaganda CHPP-3 and CHPP-1, the Ust-Kamenogorsk CHPP and Sogrinskaya CHPP have been added to the division. The effective operation of the Management Company CHPP and STEPP allows us to stably provide energy to the regional center and surrounding areas. Ust-Kamenogorsk CHPP supplies thermal energy to large industrial enterprises and covers 80% of the load of the city's housing and communal services sector, and is also the largest producer of electricity in East Kazakhstan region. Its installed thermal capacity is 881.7 Gcal/hour, electrical capacity is 372.5 MW. Considering that the East Kazakhstan region is an industrial region, the Ust-Kamenogorsk and Sogrinskaya CHPPs provide power supply to the largest enterprises of republican significance, both in East Kazakhstan region and outside the region. In addition, the Sogrinskaya CHPP, with an electrical capacity of 75 MW and a thermal capacity of 232 Gcal/hour, provides thermal energy and hot water to about 4,000 subscribers in the villages of Novaya Sogra, Raduzhny and Solnechny. A total of almost 800 people work at two thermal power plants in Ust-Kamenogorsk. As for MREK JSC, this company is engaged in the transmission and distribution of electrical energy in the Mangistau region. The main volume of electricity consumption transported through the networks of MREK JSC falls on the facilities of the oil and gas sector of the Mangistau region. The Company's share in the electricity distribution market in the Mangystau region is 90%. MREK transports more than 2.5 billion kW/h of electricity per year through its networks. The total length of power lines of various voltage classes exceeds 6 thousand kilometers. The number of employees of MREK JSC today is 667 people. Thus, the regional map of the presence of the KKS Group, along with the Karaganda and South Kazakhstan regions, from this year also includes the East Kazakhstan and Mangistau regions. As of today, we have no plans to acquire other assets.

- These enterprises - Ust-Kamenogorskaya CHPP, Sogrinskaya CHPP, MREC - are socially important objects in their regions, like all organizations whose activities are related to energy supply. These three companies, which became the property of KKS, employ almost 1,500 workers. Are there any drastic changes expected for these people?

- I can say with confidence that the employees of these three enterprises work as before. Everyone knows their job and everyone works in their responsible area. These are hundreds of qualified, experienced power engineers, and for us, the determining priority of our personnel policy has always been the competence of our employees. This principle applies both in the management company “Kazakhstan Utility Systems” and in all its subsidiaries. I would like to note that now the total number of employees of the KKS Group exceeds 11 thousand people. We consider our employees not just as staff, but, above all, as a cohesive team united by one goal. One and a half thousand employees of the Management Company CHPP, STPP and MREC simply joined the large team of the Kazakhstan Utility Systems Group and continue to work at their enterprises.

- With what indicators do the subsidiaries in the traditional regions of presence of Kazakhstan Utility Systems complete 2017 - in the Karaganda and South Kazakhstan regions?

- All companies included in the KKS Group have their own Development Strategies, which they implement. A detailed plan allows each of our subsidiaries to have a long-term “Road Map” for the modernization of existing and construction of new energy facilities, if this concerns thermal power plants and energy transmission companies, as well as improving work with consumers for sales organizations. If we talk about specific objects, then, for example, at Karaganda CHPP-3, turbine unit No. 5 was put into operation in a short period of time, which made it possible to increase the installed electrical capacity of the station by 120 MW. The next stage of plant expansion has also been completed: new equipment was launched, including a boiler plant with a thermal capacity of 200 MW and a turbine plant with an electrical capacity of 110 MW. Taking into account the commissioning of new equipment, Karaganda CHPP-3 reached an electrical capacity of 670 MW. Today it is one of the largest thermal power plants in the republic. The energy transmission company "Karagandy Zharyk" last year began implementing its third investment program aimed at the construction, reconstruction and technical modernization of electrical networks. This program is designed until 2020 and is aimed at increasing the reliability and improving the quality of power supply to consumers. As a result of the implementation of comprehensive programs over the past 5 years, the company has reconstructed electrical networks, providing the ability to connect new consumers with a total capacity of about 120 MW. The actual volume of transmission and distribution of electrical energy last year amounted to 2,945 million kW/h, which was 104% of the plan. The sales company "Karagandy ZhyluSbyt" is the largest supplier of electricity and heat in the Karaganda region. The company provides uninterrupted and high-quality utility services to residents of the region. Recently, for the convenience of consumers, a new Service Center for servicing the population has been operating, and an electronic queue system has been introduced. In the Subscriber Center and at all four sites of Karagandy ZhyluSbyt LLP, effective customer service is provided, and the company’s Call Center also operates. The next significant innovation was the Unified Payment Document (UPD), presented for payment of utility services. This is a new sample receipt, which includes all types of services supplied to the consumer: heat, electricity, hot and cold water supply, sanitation, KSK services, as well as the services of TV providers. The sales company "Energopotok" in the South Kazakhstan region is also effectively implementing its own Development Strategy. In order to improve relations with consumers of electrical energy and improve the quality of service for subscribers, a Call-center has been created and operates effectively and a WhatsApp line is functioning, through which subscribers receive instant answers to their questions. This year alone, Energopotok LLP dispatchers conducted more than 3,000 consultations with consumers. Every year there is a steady trend of increasing the number of consumers of this company. This is due to the expansion of populated areas, the increase in small and medium-sized businesses, and the construction of new social facilities. The electric grid company Ontustik Zharyk Transit, which operates electrical networks and substations in the South Kazakhstan region, is also carrying out large-scale work to modernize its energy assets - new substations are being built, power lines are being updated, and existing capacities are being increased. The comprehensive development of the enterprise is evidenced by the fact that recently the total volume of equipment serviced has increased significantly. The staff of this enterprise today exceeds 3 thousand people. Thus, all subsidiaries of the Kazakhstan Utility Systems Group have sustainable development dynamics and long-term plans aimed at improving the quality of energy supply to consumers. This allows us to formulate a positive forecast for the further growth of production indicators and the modernization of our energy facilities.

- As you know, the activities of any large company can be judged by independent assessments of leading rating agencies, which conduct a detailed analysis and publish its results. What is the rating and international status of Kazakhstan Utility Systems today?

- As you correctly noted, an indicator of the performance of participants in any industry market is the assessments of world rating agencies. The international agency Fitch Ratings analyzes the activities and evaluates the achievements of the most famous corporations in the international space. In October of this year, Fitch Ratings confirmed our company’s “Stable” outlook, assigning to KKS long-term issuer default ratings in foreign and national currencies at the level of “BB-” and a national long-term rating of “BBB+(kaz)”. We associate this assessment of leading analysts with the successful economic strategy of our Group and consider it as a further incentive in our work.

- Thank you, Nabi Erkinovich, for such detailed information. Good luck in your work and once again happy upcoming professional holiday!

- Thank you, I take this opportunity, on my own behalf and on behalf of the team of the Kazakhstan Utility Systems Group, to congratulate all those who have connected their lives with this industry on Energy Day. With all my heart I wish my fellow power engineers good health, implementation of their plans and all the best!
Источник: business magazine "Energy of Eurasia", December 2017.
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