Kazakhstan plans to fully meet economy's electricity demand by end of Q1 2027Kazakhstan plans to fully cover the economy's electricity needs and shed its status as an energy-deficient country by the end of the first quarter of 2027, Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenshenov said."The commissioning of facilities currently under development will enable us to fully cover the economy's electricity demand and lift Kazakhstan from its status as an energy-deficient country by the end of Q1 2027. By 2029, a stable surplus of both electricity and regulating capacity is expected, creating conditions for increasing the country's export potential," Akkenshenov stated at a meeting on the development of the electric power industry, as reported by the government's press service.The Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan is currently working on 81 projects with a total capacity of 15.3 GW and a total investment exceeding 13 trillion tenge. A significant portion of the projects is being implemented through direct attraction of private investments via the electric capacity market mechanism. Overall, by 2035, the commissioning of more than 26 GW of additional generating capacity will be ensured.According to the ministry, electricity generation in 2025 reached 123.1 billion kWh against consumption of 124.6 billion kWh. The total installed capacity for the year increased from 25.3 GW to 26.7 GW. The generation mix is still dominated by coal-fired power plants (51.4%), but the share of gas generation (25.6%) and renewable energy sources (13.5%) is growing.The government reminded that contractors have been selected and implementation has begun for strategically important facilities. These include the Ekibastuz GRES-3 power plant (2,640 MW), a new station in the city of Kurchatov (700 MW), as well as combined heat and power plants (CHPPs) in the cities of Kokshetau (240 MW), Semey (360 MW), and Ust-Kamenogorsk (360 MW).In the long term, until 2035, KEGOC JSC plans to commission 6,659 km of new 220-500 kV power lines and reconstruct 10,591 km of lines.Furthermore, Samruk-Energy JSC plans to commission facilities with a capacity of 7.4 GW by 2035. Key projects highlighted include the modernization of Almaty CHPP-2 with commissioning in October 2026, as well as the expansion and reconstruction of Ekibastuz GRES-2, with the commissioning of unit 3 in October 2028 and unit 4 in October 2030. (ICE ALMATY)

Fonte notizia: INTERFAX