Providing electricity to remote areas of Karakalpakstan

Outages in power supply have been causing inconveniences to the lives of citizens in remote communities of Karakalpakstan, where UNDP/UNPFA Joint Programme on ‘Building the Resilience of Local Communities Against Health, Environmental and Economic Insecurities in the Aral Sea Region’ has started its activities aimed to assist in resolving those problems.

Within the framework of the joint UNDP and UNFPA programme, implemented with funding from the Japanese government, distance workshops have been held to identify problems regarding access to social-infrastructure in pilot district of Karakalpakstan. After discussions with representatives from targeted communities in the Bozatau, Chimbay and Karauzyak districts, it was determined that one prominent concern was inconsistent access to a stable electricity supply.

Particularly in Sarancha and Kalenaul communities of Bozatau district, Halmurat Tope and Tak-Jap communities of Chimbay district, and Akpolat, Karamovin and Turkmaul communities of Karauzyak district, outdated transformers and a growing number of residents meant there was not enough available energy to meet communities’ demand. 

In response to the identified deficiencies in energy access, the Joint Programme has delivered seven sets of electric transformer equipment, each with a 250-kilowatt capacity, to the three districts. District departments of the power supply institution took responsibility for installing the transformers, connecting them to the power network, and constructing protective gates around them. 2,500 rural residents are set to benefit from these activities. 

In the near future the Joint Programme will also assist in ensuring access to clean drinking water in the Chimbay district, and will improve education infrastructure in the Bozatau district by reconstructing the premises of a branch of a secondary school.