Energy Emergency Spurs Kyrgyzstan's Hydropower Collaboration With China

Long-reliant on hydropower to keep its power grid up and running, Kyrgyzstan is grappling with nationwide electricity shortages so severe that the government declared a three-year energy emergency that took effect on August 1. In seeking to build its power-generating capacity, Kyrgyz authorities also want to push forward with long-held plans for a series of new hydropower plants (HPP) along the Naryn River, with Bishkek signing a memorandum of understanding and an investment agreement with a consortium of Chinese companies on July 27. Few details…