In accordance with the Presidential instruction, the Government and the Akimat of the Pavlodar region are taking comprehensive measures to stabilize the temperature regime in the residents' accommodation in Ekibastuz and at social facilities in the city.

Issues related to replacement of a number of heating network sections and preparation for repair works at the CHP were discussed at a special meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 7, chaired by Roman Sklyar, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

On the same day, representatives of the Ministries of Energy, Industry and Infrastructural Development, KazCentre Housing and Utilities, and the Committee for Nuclear and Energy Supervision and Control visited Ekibastuz. The members of the working group also visited social facilities and residential apartment buildings to see the progress of the repair work.

As of today there are 5 boilers at Ekibastuz Heat and Power Station, including 2 generating boilers and 3 hot water boilers. Another 5 boilers are under repair. In parallel, work is underway around the clock to repair damage to the heating network. There are currently 9 faults in the district heating network that have already been repaired.

In addition, work is continuing in Ekibastuz to adjust the temperature of the heat supply. According to the norm, it should be 77/53oC (at the outlet), the actual figure for today is 64/45oC (at the outlet). At the same time, the outside temperature reaches -21oC.

The decision was taken on Feb. 6 to switch the city's schools to a distance learning format due to the lowering of heating temperature parameters. Upon completion of the work, education will be restored in the normal mode.

It should be noted that there are 28 multi-apartment buildings in the city that are systematically experiencing under-heating. In this regard, it was decided to adjust the heat supply systems of these houses to higher parameters during the heating season. The works will be carried out by the relevant utility companies.

The city is also preparing for a large-scale repair campaign that will begin at the end of the heating season. As of today, a technical audit of the city heating system is being conducted, following which measures will be identified for its comprehensive restoration. At the same time, design and estimate documentation for the reconstruction of four mains with a total length of about 5 km, which is undergoing state expert review, is already available. In addition, estimates have been prepared for repair of 400 km of intra-block networks of the city.

In order to carry out a large-scale repair campaign and identify sources of funding, a draft memorandum on the distribution of responsibility between the regional Akimat and CAEPCO JSC has been developed.

It is worth adding that to recalculate the consumers' payment for heat energy, a new algorithm for calculating the cost of heat supply services has been developed.

The situation during the heating season in the region is under the special control of the Government of Kazakhstan.