Heating is on: the old mains meet the first cold weeks
The heating season in Nurzhan is under way, and the city's heat networks enter their first properly cold weeks. Most of the pipes date from the Soviet panel-block era.
Heating is on in Nurzhan and in Talas. As IradOne reported on Sunday, the cities' heat systems are approaching their first cold weeks, when any weakness in the old networks shows quickly.
Nurzhan's heat networks belong to the city administration and are operated by the Nurzhanteploset enterprise. The Nurzhan Heat and Power Plant beside the refinery belongs to NurGaz: its conversion to gas is planned but not yet funded.
Most of the mains in the city were laid in Soviet times together with the panel-block districts of Dastgoh, Navbahor and the microdistricts. So the first weeks of the season usually bring leaks, uneven radiators on the upper floors and more calls from tenants.
Today in Nurzhan it is clear, with a high of 14 degrees and a low of 2. According to Gidromet the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups: the air quality index is 138. In the heating season this is a familiar picture: on clear, windless evenings smoke hangs over the city.
The cost of heat matters to families too. A winter heating bill for a two-room flat is typically 250 to 400 som a month, billed in som.
If the radiators in your building stay cold for more than a few days, first contact your building's management company, and if there is no reply, the city administration. Give your address, the floor and the time when the heating was off.
