Company History
The history of JSC "Astana – Regional Electric Grid Company" spans over 40 years, beginning in 1980. It was then, on the basis of the Akmola City District Electric Grid, that the enterprise "City Electric Networks" was established in accordance with Order No. 244 of the Production Energy Association EO "Tselinenergo" dated August 6, 1980. In 2010, the enterprise was granted the status of a regional-level electric grid company and was renamed JSC "Astana - Regional Electric Grid Company."
Since 2014, the company has been based at its own production facility , equipped with a modern administrative block featuring two dispatch centers, a cafeteria, a sports hall, and an assembly hall; vehicle and specialized equipment bays; workshops, laboratories, and more. The company is equipped with modern dispatch and technological management systems, a fleet of specialized vehicles and machinery, as well as mobile diesel power plants. The production departments have access to state-of-the-art stationary and mobile laboratories, including mobile high-voltage laboratories capable of quickly identifying the nature and location of faults in cable networks up to 110 kV ("Compact-CITY" models based on Renault and Citroën, as well as R30 models based on Volkswagen).
The intensive pace of construction in the capital, along with increasing demands for the quality of life of residents, contributes to the annual growth of electrical loads in the city. Based on the results of monitoring these growing loads, projects to modernize existing networks and substations, as well as construct new energy facilities, are being developed and implemented by the company's specialists in collaboration with the State Institution "Department of the Fuel and Energy Complex and Utilities of Astana." These projects take into account modern technical, economic, and environmental requirements to ensure the reliable and efficient operation of the city's energy infrastructure.
For example, ahead of the International Exhibition "EXPO-2017," the 110 kV substations "Airport-2" and "Olymp" were commissioned, and the reconstruction of the 110 kV substation "Zhana Zholy" was completed, with power transformers replaced to increase capacity. Currently, the construction of three 110 kV substations is underway: "Ishim" , which will connect the Light Rail Transit (LRT) system and the intensively developing Telman district; "Samal" , designed to alleviate the load on existing substations and connect newly constructed facilities; "Kazbek" , intended to connect both existing and new consumers in the "Zheleznodorozhny" residential area. In the near future, to ensure the technical capability of connecting new developments, the reconstruction of the 110 kV substations "Zhuldyz," "Novaya," and "Levoberezhnaya" is planned. All these facilities will be equipped with modern electrical equipment from leading domestic and international manufacturers.
As the capital develops, so do its energy enterprises. "Astana – REC" today is not only about modern equipment and cutting-edge technologies. Above all, it is about its 1,621 employees, who form a cohesive team. Of these, over 52% hold higher education degrees, 24% have secondary specialized education, and 27% have completed secondary education. Creating opportunities for professional growth and skill enhancement for every employee is one of the key pillars of the company’s human resources policy. The results of this focus are reflected in the annual awards and honorary titles granted to employees.
The use of traditional operational methods, decades of experience, and the implementation of advanced information technologies are the main criteria ensuring that JSC "Astana - Regional Electric Grid Company" maintains a stable process of electricity transmission while reducing commercial and technical losses. Most importantly, the company ensures reliable and high-quality electricity supply to the capital’s consumers.
From the History of Urban Electric Networks
The beginning of the electrification of Akmolinsk is associated with the western part of Abay Avenue (before 1920, this avenue was called Tserkovnaya Street, and before 1991 – Lenin Street). In the middle of the block, not far from the current nine-story residential building at № 27 Abay Avenue, there once stood a small stone shop. In 1928, an internal combustion engine and a dynamo machine with a capacity of 18 kW were installed in this building.
This was the first state power station in Akmolinsk. It operated in a single shift. In the evenings, curious children would gather near the wide-open doors of the power station, watching the mechanic at work: how the diesel wheel spun, how the wide transmission belt hissed and clicked, how the dynamo hummed, and how exhaust gases were rhythmically and loudly expelled into an iron pipe…
The total length of the power transmission line was 8 km, and electricity was supplied exclusively for lighting government institutions. Akmolinsk experienced a severe shortage of electricity. Therefore, on January 7, 1932, the City Council adopted the following regulatory resolution: "For lighting premises of institutions, enterprises, and organizations, the maximum allowable wattage per light bulb is set at no more than 60 watts, and for private apartments – no more than 30 watts. The use of electricity for heating, cooking, boiling water, and charging batteries is prohibited. Unauthorized increases in the number of lighting points above the norms permitted by the power station are also forbidden."
Only in 1940, with the installation of more powerful generators (60 kW), did the Akmolinsk City Power Station (GorEnergo) move to a brick building that had previously been the Shestakov Mechanical Mill (in the courtyard of the building of JSC "Astanaenergoservice," at 41 Otyrar (Ordzhonikidze) Street).
By the winter of 1948, a locomobile LM-7 from the Lyudinovsky Plant, equipped with a 150 kW generator, was put into operation. At the same time, an extension was built, and a second 150 kW generator, brought from Semipalatinsk, was installed.
The Pump Factory was powered by its own diesel power station, which was also located on the territory of GorEnergo. The Car Repair Plant (CRP) was also supplied with electricity from its own diesel power station. Railway consumers were supplied with energy from the railway power station in the depot area and from a diesel generator installed next to the railway administration building.
In 1948, during preparations for the Central Power Station (CPS) of the KazakhSelMash plant, a 6 kV overhead power line was constructed from the CPS to the GorEnergo 6 kV substation and transformer substations (6/0.4 kV) near the drama theater (108 kVA), the city bathhouse (TP-3, 320 kVA), and along Dzhangildin Street (180 kVA). Overhead 6 kV lines on metal supports were commissioned for the routes "GorEnergo-Airport" and "GorEnergo-CRP," as well as street lighting networks. In the 1950s, GorEnergo was reorganized into GorElectroSet, with Ilchenko I.V. appointed as director and Sizukhin B.S. as chief engineer.
