FROM THE REPORT OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY (B) OF KYRGYZSTAN AND THE COUNCIL OF PEOPLE'S COMMISSARS OF THE KYRGYZ SSR TO THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE ALL-UNION COMMUNIST PARTY (B) AND THE COUNCIL OF PEOPLE'S COMMISSARS OF THE USSR ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE LEBEDINOVSKAYA HYDROELECTRIC STATION IN THE AREA OF FRUNZE
Frunze, March 1942
Due to the placement of several evacuated industrial enterprises (the First of May Plant, the Odessa Hemp-Jute Factory, and others) in Frunze, which have significant defense importance, the situation with electricity, which was already extremely tense, has now become catastrophic.
The demand for electricity for the month of April from just the evacuated enterprises is expressed as 3236 kW, while the total industrial demand in Frunze (taking into account the simultaneous operation coefficient of equipment) is 5642 kW, including: Frunze Plant - 335 kW, Hemp-Jute Factory - 397 kW, Meat Canning Plant - 275 kW, Milling Plant - 319 kW, Bread Factory - 214 kW, etc.
In addition to this amount, 1780 kW is required to meet the needs of the municipal economy.
Thus, according to the most modest estimates, the total electricity demand for the economy of Frunze is currently determined to be 7422 kW.
The three existing power plants in Frunze, two diesel and one small hydroelectric, have a working capacity of 3970 kW, but in reality, these installations (taking into account a power factor of 0.8 and 10% losses in the network) can provide a maximum of 2860 kW of electricity for distribution, which is 12% less than the demand of just the newly arrived evacuated enterprises in Frunze. Furthermore, considering that the existing power plants operate with significant interruptions due to equipment wear, the lack of some critical spare parts and materials, as well as the untimely delivery of fuel, the indicated actual capacity of the existing power plants should be significantly reduced.
Thus, the overall shortage of electricity in Frunze, even with the strictest regulation of its consumption, without accounting for factors that reduce the actual capacity of the available units (wear of diesel engines, interruptions in fuel supply, lack of spare parts, etc.), is currently expressed as 4562 kW.
The electricity deficit in Frunze has reached such proportions that we have been forced to completely shut down all local and cooperative industrial enterprises with mechanical equipment to ensure the operation of factories directly serving the defense needs of the country, and wherever possible, to switch them to manual labor, significantly reduce the energy supply to allied-republican industrial enterprises (leather factory, sewing and knitting factories, brick factories, etc.), and also to severely limit the supply of electricity to schools, educational institutions, and hospitals, which are under significant strain due to the substantial increase in the urban population. The supply of electricity for household needs in the city has almost ceased.
In March, only 38 kW was allocated for household needs, and 15 kW for city lighting.
The situation with electricity in Frunze will become even more strained by the end of 1942 due to the commissioning of industrial enterprises being built this year, utilizing evacuated equipment that has arrived in Kyrgyzstan.
Considering the difficult situation in the energy sector of Frunze, the Council of People's Commissars and the Central Committee of the Communist Party (B) of Kyrgyzstan are compelled to raise the issue again before the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (B) and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR regarding the permission to resume the construction of the Lebedinovskaya Hydroelectric Station, with a first stage capacity of 4200 kW, located on the BChK 6 kilometers from Frunze.
Construction of this station began in 1941 and was carried out in parallel with the construction of the BChK.
In the second half of 1941, due to the military situation, all work on the BChK, along with the hydroelectric station, was temporarily halted.
On the Western Channel of the BChK (before its conservation), earthworks of 5.71 million cubic meters were completed, 52 reinforced concrete pipes were laid, and other structures were built. A total of 82% of the earthworks were completed with an overall expenditure of 33.5 million rubles.
Simultaneously with the construction of the Western Channel in 1941, earthworks directly related to the construction of the Lebedinovskaya Hydroelectric Station were also initiated: 75,000 cubic meters were completed for the diversion channel and 40,000 cubic meters for the embankment of the channel before the hydroelectric station's reservoir.
In 1942, the remaining earthworks to be completed include: 400-500 thousand cubic meters for the diversion section (from the head of the channel to the hydroelectric station) and about 500 thousand cubic meters for the excavation of the hydroelectric station building and the diversion channel.
All earthworks will be carried out by the workers of Kyrgyzstan, who have extensive experience in channel construction, including deep excavations. During May-June 1941, 5.71 million cubic meters of earthworks were completed on the BChK.
The total cost of constructing the first stage of the Lebedinovskaya Hydroelectric Station, including the completion of the Western Channel of the BChK, will amount to 22.7 million rubles, of which 7.4 million rubles can be completed through the labor participation of the population.
Considering that the completion of the Western Branch of the BChK is of great importance not only for energy but also for the agriculture of the republic as irrigation construction, which will provide an increase in irrigated land for new irrigation over an area of 10,000 hectares and the development of areas for post-harvest crops, it is necessary to allocate the cost of constructing the channel to irrigation activities.
With these adjustments, the cost of expenditures for energy alone will amount to 17.7 million rubles, of which 4.7 million rubles will be from the labor participation of the population, and for water management activities approximately 5 million rubles, of which the labor participation of the population will be 2.7 million rubles.
... In addition to providing cheap electricity, the Lebedinovskaya Hydroelectric Station significantly alleviates the situation in the republic regarding the import of liquid fuel.
In 1941, the diesel stations in Frunze consumed 4902 tons of liquid fuel while generating 14.9 million kWh. In 1942, the total need for liquid fuel for all diesel engines, including those planned for installation, will amount to 8550 tons.
The expansion of diesel installations to fully meet the needs of the city's industry will require the import of 27,500 tons of liquid fuel, or 1700 tank cars per year. The construction of the first stage of the hydroelectric station will allow for a reduction in the import of up to 9,000 tons of liquid fuel.
The need for basic materials for the construction of the Lebedinovskaya Hydroelectric Station and the completion of the Western Channel of the BChK is estimated at: 400 tons of iron, 1700 tons of cement, and 6500 cubic meters of timber.
Considering the difficulty of importing construction materials into the republic, the Council of People's Commissars and the Central Committee of the Communist Party (B) of Kyrgyzstan consider it feasible to minimize the import of cement into Kyrgyzstan, obliging the Council of People's Commissars of the Kazakh SSR to allocate 1200 tons of cement from the Chui Cement Plant, located 20 km from the construction site. The import of cement into the republic will only be necessary for high-grade cement from the Kuvasay Plant of the Uzbek SSR in the amount of 500 tons. Timber will mainly be provided from local resources, and only 500 cubic meters of imported timber will be required for the most critical sections.
Considering all of the above and placing special importance on the need to meet the electricity demands of all industrial enterprises in Frunze with the aim of utilizing all technological equipment, the Council of People's Commissars and the Central Committee of the Communist Party (B) of Kyrgyzstan take on the construction of the Lebedinovskaya Hydroelectric Station and the Western Branch of the BChK and request the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (B):
1. To permit the construction of the first stage of the Lebedinovskaya Hydroelectric Station with a capacity of 4200 kW in the area of Frunze in 1942 on the Western Branch of the BChK.
2. To include in the national economic plan for 1942 the volume of work for the construction of the Lebedinovskaya Hydroelectric Station, including investments for the completion of the Western Channel of the BChK in the amount of 22.7 million rubles, of which 17.7 million rubles will be budget allocations and 7.4 million rubles will be from the labor participation of the population.
3. To assign the execution of all construction work on the channel and the hydroelectric station to the BChK Construction Management. To instruct the Ministry of Electric Power Stations to conclude a contract for the performance of construction work on the hydroelectric station (excluding installation) with the BChK Construction Management.
4. To obligate the Ministry of Electric Power Stations of the USSR:
a) To transfer to the Council of People's Commissars of the Kyrgyz SSR a complete set of equipment evacuated from the Kondopoga Hydroelectric Station to Tashkent, including a turbine from the firm Verkhshladen Christianangam with a capacity of 4200 kilowatts.
b) To prepare a technical project and working drawings for the Lebedinovskaya Hydroelectric Station with a capacity of 4200 kilowatts by July 1, 1942.
c) To complete all installation work on the Lebedinovskaya Hydroelectric Station by January 1, 1943.
5. To allow the Council of People's Commissars of the Kyrgyz SSR to conduct labor obligations to ensure the construction of the Lebedinovskaya Hydroelectric Station with workforce and transport means.
6. To obligate the State Planning Committee under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR to allocate for the construction of the Lebedinovskaya Hydroelectric Station in the second quarter of 1942 400 tons of rolled iron, 500 tons of cement from the Kuvasay Cement Plant, and 500 cubic meters of timber.
Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Kyrgyz SSR T. Kulatov
Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (B) of Kyrgyzstan A. Vagov
Central State Archive of the Kyrgyz Republic. Fund 56. Inventory 4. Case 304. Pages 183-184. Certified copy.
Placement of evacuated educational institutions from the frontline zone in Frunze. Document No. 133 (February 1942)