On November 28, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev set the tasks for the Cabinet of Ministers to resume heat supply to the residents of Ekibastuz as soon as possible. He also instructed to find and bring to justice all those guilty of the accidents and expedite the measures to restore the operation of heat supply networks to normal, Press Secretary of the President Ruslan Zheldibai reported.
On November 27 at 01.20 boiler unit 11 at the Ekibastuz thermal power plant unexpectedly stopped working. A few minutes later, boiler 13, 14 and 15 stopped working as well. The main cause of the accidents is due to the excessive use of network water. As a result, the residents of the city were left without heat.
Zheldibay reported that the President tasked the Government and the Pavlodar Region Akimat to improve the situation in the near future and restore the operation of the thermal power plant to normal. The President instructed that all those guilty of the accidents be brought to justice.
The President promised the necessary assistance and support to the residents of the city. He instructed Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov to consider the de-privatization of the problematic energy facilities. It was noted that the lax management practices are the main cause of accidents and power supply disruptions.
As was reported, the Commission on Demonopolization of Economy under the Government considered the de-privatization of similar facilities privatized at a reduced cost at its recent meeting.
