Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Sept. 5 / Trend H.Hasanov /
Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov has approved the regulations on the Ministry of Energy, whose mission is the production and sale of electricity, an official Turkmen source said.
The document was prepared under by order of the president dated July 6, 2012 "On the creation of the Ministry of Energy of Turkmenistan." The new agency was established on the basis of the Ministry of Energy and Industry split into two separate structures.
The question of power industry was discussed recently at a governmental meeting, at which the Turkmen leader said that "in terms of energy resources Turkmenistan is one of the richest states, and the electricity production, as is known, is considered throughout the world as one of the most lucrative industries."
According to the State Statistics Committee, the growth rate on the Ministry of Energy from January to July 2012 compared with the previous year amounted to 118.2 per cent, while electricity generation was 107.1 per cent.
The power industry is one of the leading sectors of the national economy aimed at fully satisfying the needs of industry, agriculture, the social sector and to increase the volume of exports.
At this stage, work is underway to create a loopback energy system, reconstruct and modernise a number of power plants and introduce advanced energy-saving technology.
Transport capacity at this stage allows the country to export electricity to Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey and Central Asia while work relating to the supply of electricity to Pakistan is underway.
In accordance with the strategy of development of industry by 2030, electricity production in Turkmenistan is expected to reach 35.5 billion kilowatt-hours.