Azernews.Az

Azerbaijan's generating capacities must always be in a condition that would rule out a shortage in the country, President Ilham Aliyev said while receiving Vugar Ahmadov on the occasion of his appointment as chairman of the Azerishig Open Joint Stock Company.

"You are paying AzerEnerji for energy in full and the collection rate is 95 percent. I think this is a good result. Of course, in the future it is necessary to pay great attention especially to the energy sector in remote mountain villages, because as a result of the construction of new substations and transformers, we have resolved the problem in practically all our cities, but there are still old pylons in some villages. When traveling to these villages, I see that there are still wooden supports there. Additional measures must be taken to replace them with modern ones. Distribution lines have now been completely updated. Therefore, in order to maintain energy supply at the current level, we certainly need to be always active. 'AzerIshig', too, should pay attention to this work, because our needs are growing. In 2019, our non-oil industry increased by 14 percent. This means that additional energy capacities are required. I believe that connection to the network is at a high level," the head of state said.

President Ilham Aliyev noted that in some countries, this is turning into a major problem as emerging enterprises cannot connect to a common network.

"We do not have this problem. But our needs are increasing, the population is growing and will continue to grow. Today, our population has reached 10 million. Over the years, it will reach 11 and 12 million. So our network should be ready for this. Therefore, we allocate large funds in order to completely update the generating capacity. We are currently working with a surplus. However, our generating capacities must always be in a condition that would rule out a shortage in Azerbaijan. Of course, in order to maintain the energy infrastructure in good condition, all operating procedures must be completed at a high level," the head of state added.

"The breakdown of 2018 should be a good lesson. Measures taken in the aftermath of the breakdown are giving good results. As a result of a ring connection of substations, we insure ourselves against breakdowns and their consequences. A breakdown can occur in any country. The main thing is how long its consequences are eliminated. We have created a ring system so that energy supply can be arranged in a short time. I wish you success. I am sure that you will justify this high confidence."

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