2024-02-09 10:34:09
“Power lines in Lerik freeze in the snow and break in the wind”. This is, in their own words, a mountain-sized problem of the residents of Lerik’s mountain village. Residents of Orand, Pirasora, Nuravud, Kekonu, Sorschay and other nearby villages say that electricity lines fail every year due to unstable weather.
Taleh Taghizadeh has been living in Lerik for more than half a century. “Every winter of my life, from one day to the next, I sleep by candlelight,” Taghizadeh told RFE/RL about the risks posed by power lines to residents in remote villages: “We are not complaining about the snow and harsh weather of the southern zone, the weather is God’s. For years, we have been complaining about the power lines that the wind tore down and threw on our heads. Let’s say it’s not God’s. I am also a teacher, children go to school in the snow and winter. If it breaks and harms the child, who will be responsible? God looked at us and nothing happened until today. Every time a proud worker comes and fixes the broken line. If normal repairs are carried out, we will not be without electricity so often.”
The 53-year-old man remembers the period in 2020 when classes were held remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he says, “when the line was broken during online classes, all education stopped.”
A wire wrapped around a tree
The weather conditions are more moderate in Jalilabad, Masalli, as well as in Azerbaijan, and there are citizens who say that electricity lines and poles become a source of danger in severe weather.
Resident of Goychay Shams Huseynzade he says that the supports put up as support for the bending electric poles are rotting. He says, especially in remote villages such as Lekchilpag, Alpout, Beydovul, Inche, Shekar, and Veysalli, the service life of wooden electric poles, old transformers, and patched power lines installed in the Soviet era in various parts of the region has expired: “Therefore, when the wind blows a little, when it rains, the high-voltage lines break and twist. Short circuit causes fire. There was a patched line, after the wind it fell into the yard, our dog’s heart burst and died. It was a bad day for planting and harvesting in the burning area..
The 69-year-old elder of the district also complains about the same problem. He says that the artificial wires get tangled in the tree trunks, causing problems both in the hot summer days and in the cold: “They fall over and fall apart in the wind. In the summer, there is a short circuit in the wires, and a fire breaks out. A separate movie when it rains. Come on, a temporary solution to our problem is found, the same scene again in the next bad weather. There is a place where there is no tree, we have to bury a stake there ourselves and tie the wire. Last winter, the neighbor’s cow also died from the dangling, short-circuiting of that poorly connected wire. Sinners also vent.”
In the complaint from Bilasuvar, it is said that “the shalbans, which have become unusable and are about to fall, are not replaced. The bottoms of the buried poles are not fixed properly, there is a danger of falling over.
The problem does not end with the regions, but also in Baku.
The problem caused by power lines does not end with the regions. In the villages of Baku, there are families who start their tomorrow with the damage caused by the power line. Only Taghizadeh says that since the power lines were attached to the pole very close to the houses, this autumn lightning caused a fire: “The wires are not firmly attached. There is often a problem. There are no long-term light breaks. But, for example, that day the wires fell on the counter at night. “If the neighbors had not woken up, the fire would have engulfed the whole house.”
Taghizade says that the breaking of wires affects not only people, but also stray animals living on the street, cows, sheep and lambs kept for farming in the settlement.
Dark tenders in “Azerishik”.
“Azerishiq” OJSCIt was not possible to get a response to the citizens’ complaints. Speaking to Radio Liberty about four months ago, the spokesperson of the institution, Vagif Aydinoglu, said that in some areas electric poles have been replaced with new ones, and modern wires have been installed. Aydinoglu has also admitted to the local media the existence of problems related to electricity in the villages. “It is true that in most regions there are electric poles, lines, and transformers from the Soviet era, built in the 1950s and 1960s. We don’t deny it, but it is solved gradually.”
In the last year’s report of the same institution, it was mentioned that renovation works were carried out on these lines across the country. According to information, 893 complete transformer substations of various capacities were installed in Baku and regions, cable lines and overhead lines were laid.
“Azerishik”, which ended 2022 with a net profit of more than 56 million manats, did not always shed light on its tenders for purchasing products and their results. In that year, the institution included 2,910 open tenders worth more than 3 million US dollars in its procurement plans. There are 27 tenders held by the said OJSC last year on the unified internet portal of public procurement. It is not clear why other tenders were not held, and if they were held, the results.
The same company won 11 of the tenders on the Internet portal. It has a charter capital of 10 manats and was registered in 2020 “Smart Energy Services” has been When it won the tender worth 11.6 million manats, “Smart Energy Services” LLC owed more than 4 thousand manats in taxes to the state budget. In this case, the winning of the tender by this company contradicted the requirements of the Law “On Public Procurement”. Currently, the company does not have any tax debt.
In general, the issue of the institution’s tenders has come up from time to time. Four years ago, Azadlig Radio addressed a question to “Azerishiq” regarding the purchase of products worth more than 1 million manats from the seven-month-old company, and the institution considered itself right. The similarity between the tender winners is that the names of these companies can be found mainly in tender competitions. There is no information about most of the companies in open internet resources. Apart from the tenders, the information about the funds spent on the electricity supply of each region is not published accurately.
Expert advice
Expert on energy issues Orkhan Aliyev says that the non-transparency in the procurement procedure in Azerbaijan manifests itself in tenders related to electricity supply. Thus, although “Azerishiq” publishes information about the work it does with its own funds, it often hides information about the funds allocated from the budget: “The Cabinet of Ministers and other state institutions do not publish information about where and how these funds are spent. This raises serious doubts about the quality of the materials used. Especially in the regions. If the electricity supply in the regions and remote areas breaks down when there is a slight wind, due to the allocation of millions every year, there is an improper use of funds here.
O. Aliyev notes that currently stronger and more flexible aluminum cables are preferred, but natural phenomena such as wind, rain, thunder and lightning have a negative effect on lines made of this material. Moreover, against the background of increasing energy demand, wires installed 20-30 years ago no longer meet electrical safety requirements: “The use of aluminum wire can become more dangerous over the years. Therefore, “Azerishik” should change the wires it provided 15 years ago and improve the materials. It is better if the conductive materials are copper. Since it is relatively expensive, it can be used in the regions first. Or conductors containing steel are more durable.
The expert considers underground power lines to be the most ideal option, and says that such expensive lines are mainly built in the liberated Karabakh. According to him, it is more profitable to build an expensive line, taking into account the maintenance costs.
He turned to the president…
In the report of the “State Program for the Development of the Fuel-Energy Complex of the Republic of Azerbaijan (2005-2015)” approved by President Ilham Aliyev, it is written that work has been done to improve electricity supply in the regions.
A resident of Lerik Taleh Taghizadeh He remembers that during those years, the works in the district were done half-heartedly: “We are appealing to the president to give these power lines a single hand, give orders and strongly control them. We hope that it will be resolved next year, if not this year.”
In 2023, funds in the amount of 170 million manats were allocated from the state budget to increase the charter capital of “Azerishiq” OJSC. Of this, 50 million manats were to be spent on the reconstruction of the electricity distribution network in Azerbaijan.
Freedom radio