Around 60–70 percent of equipment in Kyrgyzstan’s energy sector is outdated, Energy Minister Altynbek Rysbekov said at a briefing.

According to him, power transformers, for example, are designed to operate for 25 years, while some transformers in Kyrgyzstan have been in service for 45 years or even longer.

«Outdated equipment has to be repaired in order to extend its service life as much as possible. Several years ago, the share of outdated equipment reached 70–80 percent, and repairs were carried out using our own funds. Every year, we try to upgrade equipment as much as possible,» Altynbek Rysbekov said.

On July 17, following an emergency shutdown of two 220-kilovolt high-voltage lines — Kara-Balta — Glavnaya and Glavnaya — Shu — a massive failure occurred. Following this, the system’s automatic load-shedding system was activated.