Ilham Aliyev attended the ceremony to commission new substations and office buildings of the “BakiElektrikShebeke” Open Joint-Stock Company

President Ilham Aliyev has attended the opening of a 110/35/6-kilovolt substation of the “BakiElektrikShebeke” Open Joint-Stock Company in the Narimanov district of Baku and, via a video link, of 35-kilovolt stations No 117 in the Nasimi District, “Hovsan” in the Surakhani district, No 207 in the Binagadi district, No 102 and 118 in the Bibi-Heybat settlement of the Sabayil district, as well as office buildings of the Khazar, Surakhani, Sabunchu, Garadagh, Yasamal district departments and the department for supervision.

On direct orders of President Ilham Aliyev, the transmission and distribution network of the capital has undergone a thorough upgrade since 2006, as over 606 million manats have been invested in this area. Over the past period, a total of twenty 110-kilovolt substations were built. This has played an important part in ensuring smooth, stable and quality power supply of the capital and the Absheron peninsula. Fifty-one 35-kilovolt substations have been built to date. Thanks to the comprehensive measures, the receiving and distributing capacity of the Baku power grid has increased by nearly 80 per cent. Since 2006, the installed capacity of the network has increased from 3,048 to 5,245 Megavoltampere, while technical losses have dropped to 8 per cent. A modern dispatch center and a ring supply circuit have been put in place. The "BakiElektrikShebeke" OJSC is reconstructing all its office buildings, paying particular attention to the introduction of information and communication technologies. Whereas this entity was seriously lagging behind the rapid socioeconomic development of Baku before the launch of the network, this balance has now changed for the better and additional technical capacity meeting the future development of the capital created. In general, the comprehensive energy measures taken in Baku and its suburban settlements are real indicators that the human factor is at the heart of Azerbaijan’s development model and the philosophy of state building.

First the President of Azerbaijan attended the opening of a 110/35/6-kilovolt substation in the Narimanov district. The Chairman of the Board of the "BakiElektrikShebeke" OJSC, Baba Rzayev, informed the President about the substation. He noted that the previous station was commissioned in 1974 to supply electricity to the industrial enterprises of the Narimanov district, including the Baku factory of air conditioners.

In view of the future development, the completely outdated power plant has been replaced with a new substation meeting the latest standards. Whereas the previous substation with an open switchgear and auxiliary facilities covered an area of over 16,000 square meters, the new substation of a closed type is seven times smaller. The installed capacity of the new power plant is 100 Megavoltampere. The building of the substation, as was the case with other substations built in the last few years, has an interesting design and architecture, which imparts additional touches to the general appearance of the city. The vast area around the substation has been landscaped.

At the entrance to the substation, there is a bas-relief of great leader Heydar Aliyev. There are photo stands here describing the comprehensive measures taken by nationwide leader Heydar Aliyev and President Ilham Aliyev to develop the country's energy system, including the transmission and distribution network of the capital.

President Ilham Aliyev reviewed the control center of the substation. It was noted that this modern center was connected to the central control service of "BakiElektrikShebeke", the SCADA system, by means of a fiber-optic cable. The commissioning of the substation has led to a 12-per cent increase of the network power. As an integral part of the ring circuit between substations "Khirdalan" and "Mushfig", this substation is also connected to substation "Nizami". Playing a fundamental role in the establishment of a second 110-kilovolt ring circuit, the new substation will enhance the reliability of power supply to the Heydar Aliyev refinery and other important industrial enterprises. It can connect to the network in case of automatic shutoffs and lack of power. The power plant supplies electricity to the Heydar Aliyev Center, the Heydar Aliyev Avenue, the State Oil Fund, the new office building of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan, the building of the Gymnastics Federation under construction, the Intelligent Transport Management Center, and other important facilities.

President Ilham Aliyev launched the substation.

After the substation was put into operation, a direct video link was established with substation No 117 in the Nasimi district and the office of the energy supply and sale department of the Sabunchu district. Also via a video link, the President observed the opening of 35-kilovolt stations No 117 in the Nasimi District, “Hovsan” in the Surakhani district, No 207 in the Binagadi district, No 102 and 118 in the Bibi-Heybat settlement of the Sabayil district, as well as office buildings of the Khazar, Surakhani, Sabunchu, Garadagh, Yasamal district departments and the department for supervision.

Congratulating the team of "BakiElektrikShebeke" on the opening of new substations and office buildings, President Ilham Aliyev said:

- My congratulations! It is a very important day for Baku today. Wonderful facilities are being inaugurated in a number of places to ensure sustainable power supply of Baku. This work has been done on a regular basis. The power supply of Baku has substantially improved in recent years. If we recall the previous years, we will see that the problem of power supply had always been of great concern. But by returning the Baku power grid under state management and organizing work at a high level, we put an end to all the negative phenomena. Today, there are no problems with the power supply of Baku. In fact, power supply is improving year after year and day after day, the material and technical infrastructure is strengthening, new lines are laid, wonderful substations are built. Thus, we are creating new capacities to implement the program on the development of our city in the years to come.

Our country and the city of Baku are developing. Our city is a site of numerous construction projects, new industrial plants, business centers and shopping facilities are emerging. Of course, all these facilities should receive electricity. Sustainable energy supply is a major task for any country. There can be no development without that. This work is being done this year too. I am confident that a lot of work will be done in this area in the coming years as well. The state is paying great attention to this field. Sustainable power supply of Baku and all residential settlements of our country is our priority objective. At present, the country has no problems with electricity. But the transmission and distribution lines are not yet up to standard, and this issue will also be resolved in the coming years.

I sincerely congratulate you and the people of Baku on this wonderful event. Some great centers are opening in several locations around Baku. I wish you every success.

Then, President Ilham Aliyev reviewed the 110-kilovolt closed switchgear of the substation. It operates equipment based on the latest scientific and technical innovations in the field of electricity.

President Aliyev then examined the new training center of the substation. The fully equipped center meets modern requirements. Company employees will be improving their knowledge, studying the latest scientific and technical achievements in the field of energy and acquiring professional skills on operating modern equipment and technology. The stands describing the ongoing and future activities provided the President with extensive information about the previous condition of the substation, other substations and offices commissioned, cable lines installed, the double-beam ring circuit Sangachal-Khirdalan, etc.

As in all other substations, the area around it has been landscaped and a modern lighting system installed. The canteen built on the site also meets contemporary requirements.

"BakiElektrikShebeke" has paid special attention to improving the quality of services provided to clients and the application of modern standards to the field in recent years. Clear evidence of that is the department for the sale of electricity built on the site of the new substation in the Narimanov district. It wasn’t necessary to allocate an additional plot of land for the construction of the building – it is built on the substation premises. Another convenience for customers and employees of the substation is the fact that the office building is located near the underground station "Bakmil".

At the entrance to the three-storey building there is a bust of great leader Heydar Aliyev and a photo stand reflecting the measures taken by nationwide leader Heydar Aliyev and President Ilham Aliyev to develop the country's energy system.
The total area of the building is almost 2,700 square meters. It is well suited to receive customers and provide the necessary service. The office is equipped with broadband Internet and an internal network. The department for the sale of electricity has interesting interior design.

After reviewing the new office building of the department for the sale of electricity, the President met with the team of "BakiElektrikShebeke".

Expressing his gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev on behalf of the team, Bakhish Babaev said that thanks to the full support of the state, the electricity system of the capital had changed beyond recognition over the past few years:

- Dear Mr. President, I wish you good health and happiness. Baku is currently home to about 4 million people. On your instruction the overhead power lines in Baku have been moved underground. There are many beautiful buildings and substations like this one. You have created all this for the people. We stand by you. I want to indicate that you are leading our republic at top level. On behalf of my family, myself personally and on behalf of the Baku power supply department I wish you good health and success. I want to see you as cheerful at all times. Thank you very much for coming to meet with us.
President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you, I also congratulate you. Indeed, it is a very important day today. We have conducted beautiful opening ceremonies in a few places in Baku in one day. The substations now look like palaces. We remember the previous years only too well. I noted earlier today that, unfortunately, after "BakiElektrikShebeke" was placed under management, the situation did not change for the better. In fact, it further deteriorated. Several years ago, on my order, the enterprise and this whole infrastructure were returned to the state. The audit we conducted revealed that the foreign company which had taken the company into management destroyed and looted everything. We had to actually rebuild all these facilities and infrastructure. I am very pleased that such esteemed people as you have created it in a short time and there are no problems with electricity in Baku today. The potential of the new facilities shown here on the stands has also been calculated, so that we could be ready for their functioning.

Bakhish Babayev: Our great leader also acted like this.

President Ilham Aliyev: Yes, of course, the foundation of this work was laid at the time of the great leader. After he left Azerbaijan in the early 1980s, unfortunately, this sphere and indeed all other areas started to gradually decline. But power supply in Baku and in Azerbaijan as a whole is at a high level now. International agencies and organizations estimate that the quality and stability of power supply are at a high level. We must strive to maintain this level. There is still much to do. But the work done so far work suggests that we will succeed in the future too.

Bakhish Babayev: Mr. President, we all love you very much. I have worked with the great leader. I saw him at the Council of Ministers. We extended a power line from Igdir to Nakhchivan. We are proud to have a President like you. Thank you very much.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you. All of you remember, we all remember that power supply could not provide for our needs before. We had to buy electricity abroad. Today Azerbaijan exports electricity to neighboring countries - Russia, Georgia, Iran and Turkey, even from Nakhchivan to Turkey. This is the result of our work.

Bakhish Babayev: This is the result of your work. We wish you every success. 

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you.

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Then a picture was taken.