Engineers at the Ust-Kamenogorsk hydroelectric power plant in Kazakhstan have begun the final stage of a long-term modernization program. The work involves dismantling generating unit number four, which has been in continuous operation for 67 years. This turbine is the last original machine remaining from the station’s commissioning in the 1950s.
Technical teams have already disassembled the generator rotor and drained the spiral case that directs water to the blades. The scale of the project is defined by the dimensions of the equipment, as the structure stands over 17 meters high with a total weight of 112 tons. The turbine component alone accounts for 86 tons of the assembly.
The replacement of the fourth unit completes a comprehensive technical overhaul of the facility, following the prior modernization of three similar machines. Components for the new installation have started to arrive at the site. The Novosibirsk-based Elsib plant is supplying generator parts, while Power Machines in Saint Petersburg is responsible for manufacturing the turbine.
Projected for completion between 2026 and 2027, the upgrade will increase the capacity of the unit by 12 megawatts to a total of 95 megawatts. The station is expected to produce an additional 17 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually once the work is finished. This increase in efficiency will be achieved without altering reservoir levels or increasing water consumption, and the new equipment is designed to operate for at least 50 years.
The Ust-Kamenogorsk plant (the first facility of the Irtysh cascade) was primarily constructed between 1949 and 1952 and features a 40-meter-high dam. The station currently maintains an average annual output exceeding 1.5 billion kilowatt-hours. Management has decided to preserve the decommissioned 1959 unit as a historical monument on the plant grounds to mark the industrial development of the region.
