Life dedicated to the profession

Monday, 21 February 2022
“The studies seemed interesting to me, the teachers were very good,” says Symbat Masgutovich. - In addition, each course was followed by industrial practice at large industrial enterprises located in various parts of the Soviet Union - Novosibirsk, Volgograd, Leningrad, Astrakhan. Not only did we gain experience and knowledge, but we were also paid a salary, the institute provided travel allowances. My first internship was at the Alma-Ata cotton factory as an electrician. For my second internship, I went to the Elektrostal plant near Moscow, where electric energy was mainly used for steel smelting. I was amazed by the scale of production - giant electric vacuum, electric arc furnaces, powerful transformers and modern electrical equipment were installed, when you see it all, you are amazed at this power and splendor.
In the third year, the energy department was transformed and separated into a separate institute - Alma-Ata Energy Institute. In 1977, Symbat Isekeyev was among the third graduating class of a higher educational institution. Then, due to family circumstances, he returned to Egindybulak, where he got a job as an electrician in the power grid district of the Karaganda high-voltage electrical networks enterprise, and after a year and a half he became a boss. The Electricity Grid District operated more than 500 km of power lines in the Egindybulak region.
- I worked here for 21 years. We were given big tasks, for example, since 1983, the regional leadership set the task of electrifying all winter camps, even remote ones. And there were more than three hundred of them in our region! Step by step, according to the developed plan, we connected 30-50 wintering sites a year to power supply and achieved our goal, having built more than 2000 km of electrical networks by 1990. In this regard, our region could be considered unique; this was not the case in other regions,” recalls Symbat Masgutovich.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union and Kazakhstan gaining independence, the already experienced specialist worked for several more years in the Egindybulak region, then moved to the regional center, where he worked in the structure of large energy companies, which, having undergone several reorganizations, became known to everyone as Karagandy Zharyk LLP and LLP "Karagandy ZhyluSbyt". Headed several departments, took part in the development and implementation of an automated system for commercial electricity metering (ASKUE provides remote data collection using smart metering devices), made calculations and protection of standard technical losses in electrical networks, tested electricity metering systems at industrial enterprises, developed documentation and instructions for staff and much more. He was included in the working group to develop a new tariff and qualification directory for workers in the electric power industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
For his professional and well-organized work, he was repeatedly noted by the Ministry of Energy of the Kazakh SSR, the leadership, and was awarded a number of awards, of which the most valuable for him are the titles “Veteran of Energy” and “Honored Energy Engineer of Kazakhstan.”
Despite his age, Symbat Masgutovich’s knowledge and experience are still in demand - he works as a leading specialist in the analytics department of Karaganda ZhyluSbyt LLP, where he prepares analytical reports and forecasts. And in addition, he is a member of the expert group of the regional Council of Veteran Energy Engineers, headed by Vladimir Ignatievich Litvinov, respected in our region. Veterans take an active part in meetings of commissions that review utility tariffs and participate in discussions of monopolists’ budget plans and their investment programs.
Symbat Masgutovich still remembers with respect his mentors and colleagues with whom he worked for a long time. Among them are Nikolai Kim, Dmitry Kusakin, Ivan Voronkov, Vladimir Teslya, Toleubek Dzhusanbaev, Nuraly Sagintaev, Nikolai Bocharnikov, Sharip Omarov and others.
- On the eve of the professional holiday of all power engineers and the Independence Day of the Republic of Kazakhstan, I would like to wish all my colleagues, first of all, health, trouble-free work, happiness and prosperity. And so that during the New Year holidays, all Kazakhstanis, sitting at a richly laid table in warmth and comfort, raise a glass to the representatives of our very necessary profession, says Symbat Masgutovich.