500 kV substation launched in Tashkent region in $171.4 million project

The capacity of the substation (referred to as “Xalqa” in some reports) is 1,602 MVA. Along with it, 285 km of new overhead power transmission lines were built: 213 km of 220 kV lines and 72 km of 500 kV lines. The facility is expected to make the power supply to Tashkent and parts of the region more reliable and improve load distribution across existing networks. The Ministry of Energy called the substation “one of the largest and most modern high-voltage infrastructure facilities in Uzbekistan.” Work is currently in its final stages to connect the new facilities to the country's unified energy system.

The redistribution of power flows is also expected to reduce the load on the Tashkent Thermal Power Plant. According to available information, this will enable the plant to stop using fuel oil and reduce emissions of polluting substances.

According to the World Bank, this is the first substation in Uzbekistan where management and monitoring are carried out using modern digital technologies. It will receive electricity from power plants in Syrdarya region and from wind power plants in the southwest of the country.

The substation is part of the 380 million dollar “Electricity Sector Transformation and Resilient Transmission” project, which National Electric Grid of Uzbekistan is implementing with financial support from the World Bank. The project was approved in 2021. It also includes the reconstruction, modernization, and expansion of 22 outdated high-voltage substations and the construction of transmission lines in almost all regions.