Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Veolia Energy Tashkent reported on the results of work for 3 months. The company conducted a preliminary audit and identified critical areas in 20 boiler houses, completed the relocation of heating networks in more than 100 areas, identified and eliminated more than 1,600 damages in heating networks.

From 1 July 2022, the French company Veolia, represented by its subsidiary Veolia Energy Tashkent, became the operator of the heat supply system in Tashkent. Its tasks include the transportation and distribution of heat energy from heat supply enterprises (GUP "Tashteplocentral", JSC "TashCHP") to consumers, as well as the generation of heat energy at 209 local boiler houses owned by the company, with the subsequent transfer of heat energy to residents of the city of Tashkent.

The primary task for Veolia Energy Tashkent was to prepare for the heating season 2022-2023. To get acquainted with the ongoing work, the company held a press tour for journalists.

“When preparing for the heating season, we focused on preventing accidents and eliminating defects. This season, hydraulic strength tests of pipelines were carried out at pressures up to 16 bar, which is almost double the pressure applied in previous years. Thanks to this increase, we were able to find more weak and vulnerable sections of the heating network affected by corrosion and other damage. Over 3 months of work, Veolia Energy Tashkent identified and eliminated more than 1600 damages. Proactive problem solving avoids breaks and leaks, and therefore minimizes the risk of hot water and heat supply shutdowns in the autumn-winter period,” said Alexander Hasti, CEO of Veolia Energy Tashkent.

Also, the company’s specialists conducted a preliminary audit of the 20 largest boiler houses, which is carried out to identify infrastructure defects. Checking the remaining boiler houses in Tashkent continues.

“The audit showed that the critical area requiring large-scale improvements is the state of the infrastructure. A significant part of heating networks and equipment needs current and major repairs. It is impossible to replace the entire infrastructure and solve the existing problems at once.

Veolia Energy Tashkent is carrying out systematic work to replace worn-out pipelines and modernize the heat supply system as a whole. In 3 months, we completed the relocation of heating networks in more than 100 areas, and also repaired and replaced more than a thousand expansion joints that prevent pipe deformation,” commented Laurynas Rarivanas, Operations Director of Veolia Energy Tashkent.

Veolia Energy Tashkent plans not only to reconstruct the heating networks, but also to introduce a number of improvements. Thus, Veolia specialists together with the State Unitary Enterprise "Tashteplocentral" will work to improve the quality of the supplied water, which will reduce the natural corrosion of pipelines and increase their service life.

The company will also carry out a phased transition from an open heating system to a closed one. With the new approach, water heating will be carried out directly at the facility (house, office building). Along with the modernization of heat supply technology, the transition to an integrated heat supply scheme will ensure the proper quality of hot water and lead to a significant reduction in unit heat energy costs, which in turn will have a positive impact on tariffs.

The functions of the heat supply operator were transferred to Veolia Energy Tashkent from State Unitary Enterprise Toshissikkuvvati. The company employed all employees of SUE "Toshissikkuvvati", raised salaries by an average of 20% and launched training and advanced training programs from international industry experts.

The company also plans to modernize the dispatch center, introduce an automated consumer accounting system based on modern information and communication technologies, and introduce a call center to improve the system of interaction with consumers.