The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $125mn loan to help enhance Uzbekistan’s power transmission grid, improving energy efficiency and enabling the integration of more renewable energy into the country’s power mix.

The Digitise to Decarbonise – Power Transmission Grid Enhancement Project is set to rehabilitate 12 transmission lines in seven regions – Bukhara, Fergana, Kashkadarya, Samarkhand, Surkhandarya, Navoi and Tashkent – of total length of about 359 km. The project will also finance the reconstruction and modernisation of four 220-kV substations in Faizabad, Obi-Khaet, Zafar and Zarafshan to expand their capacity to meet current and projected energy demand.

“This project will help Uzbekistan meet the growing demand for reliable and affordable electricity, while supporting the country’s transition to a green and low-carbon economy,” said ADB Director-General for Central and West Asia Yevgeniy Zhukov. “Modernising the national grid will complement public and private sector efforts to scale up renewable energy generation and help ensure better energy access for all.”

The project will digitalise the transmission grid by replacing old technology with modern high-voltage lines and substations ready to be connected to a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system. This would enable the operation dispatch centre to gain remote control and acquire real-time and historical data. The National Electric Grid of Uzbekistan will be able to better manage power supply and increase renewable energy generation capacity in the grid.