State audit reveals multibillion financial violations in Kazakh energy sectorA state audit has identified inefficient budget planning in Kazakhstan's electricity sector amounting to 9.5 billion tenge as well as the inefficient use of funds and assets totaling 104.7 billion tenge, the country's Supreme Audit Chamber said.Audits covered the Kazakh Energy Ministry, JSC Samruk-Energy, JSC Kazakhstan Electricity Grid Operating Company (KEGOC), JSC Kazakhstan Electricity and Power Market Operator (KOREM), Settlement and Financial Center for Support of Renewable Energy Sources LLP and several other organizations. Their activities during 2021-2024 were analyzed.WEAK RESULTS, BIG PLANSAccording to the results of the state audit, one of the main problems in the electricity sector is the failure to implement the plans and measures that were intended to support its development.Lack of proper oversight, insufficient market research and inadequate marketing analysis by project developers led to contractors delivering equipment to JSC KEGOC for four projects at prices that were inflated 2-3 times, totaling 2.2 billion tenge.Over the past 10 years, the JSC Samruk-Energy group has completed only four new projects. This casts doubt on the success of rolling out 25 projects planned over the next 10 years, as outlined in the development strategy adopted in 2024.Inefficient expenditures by JSC Samruk-Energy on suspended projects totaled 199 billion tenge (this figure includes periods before 2021-2024). The largest include construction of the Balkhash Thermal Power Plant (102 billion tenge) and unit no. 3 of the Ekibastuz GRES-2 power plant (61.2 billion tenge).ENERGY (IN)DEPENDENCEAccording to the Supreme Audit Chamber's audit report, energy generation and consumption in the regions are not locally balanced. Most generating capacity is located in the northern energy zone, while a quarter of electricity consumption occurs in the south. Only the Pavlodar, East Kazakhstan and North Kazakhstan regions can be considered self-sufficient overall.Electricity consumption in Kazakhstan is growing amid the continued deterioration of power plants, the chamber said. The overall wear-and-tear rate of all generating capacities in Kazakhstan stands at 55% and for power grids at 76%.The electricity sector still depends on foreign equipment supplies, it said.TARIFFS: COMPLEX AND SUBJECTIVEAnother problem in the electric power sector is the lack of transparency in tariff policy, the chamber said.The Energy Ministry does not have the function of monitoring the costs of electricity production and sales, which affects the justification of price caps for power companies, it said.The audit revealed shortcomings related to price caps for electricity, capacity tariffs and tariffs in the balancing market. Tariffs for power plants are approved without public hearings, and budget plans and implementation reports are not published, it said.Tariffs in the balancing market are approved based on formulas that allow for selective and subjective interpretations in choosing certain values. As a result, auditors believe there has been an overstatement of tariffs amounting to 34.7 billion tenge, which was ultimately paid by consumers. The same applies to the calculation of fines related to these tariffs. (ICE ALMATY)

Fonte notizia: INTERFAX