On the instructions of the Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, work on the systemic modernization of the fuel and energy complex continues in Kazakhstan. A reliable, self-sufficient and modern energy system will become a solid foundation for the stable economic growth of the country and the improvement of the well-being of each citizen.

Electric power industry: the key task is to ensure energy independence

The main task in the electric power industry is to ensure the country's energy independence and fully cover the growing needs of the economy. The President's instruction sets an ambitious goal - to commission at least 14 gigawatts of new generating capacity in the next five years. This work is being carried out in several areas: modernization of existing stations, construction of new generating units, and development of hydro and renewable energy sources.

In 2023 and 2024, 1.3 gigawatts of new electrical capacity has already been commissioned. In 2025, another 621.5 megawatts are being commissioned, and 2,648.5 megawatts are planned for 2026. To achieve these goals, active work is underway to build new strategic facilities. A project to build a power plant based on a combined-cycle plant with a capacity of up to 1000 MW is being implemented in the Turkestan region. In Kyzylorda, construction and installation work is underway to build a new thermal power plant with a capacity of 240 MW.

Reducing the wear and tear of infrastructure: 9 thermal power plants have moved from the high-risk “red” zone to the “yellow” zone

In his Address “A Fair Kazakhstan: Law and Order, Economic Growth, Public Optimism,” Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev drew attention to the need to resolve priority infrastructure problems.

The issues of reducing the wear and tear of thermal power plants are under special control of the Government. A large-scale repair campaign is being implemented: major repairs of 10 power units, 63 boilers and 39 turbines are planned for 2025. Currently, work is underway on 5 power units, 30 boilers and 19 turbines. Repairs have been completed on 4 power units, 15 boilers and 9 turbines. The measures taken are already yielding tangible results: the average wear and tear of thermal power plants in the country has been reduced from 64% to 61% due to modernization and updating of equipment.

Based on the results of the past heating season, 9 CHPPs moved from the red zone of high accident rate to the yellow zone, 3 CHPPs - from the yellow to the green zone. Currently, 10 CHPPs are in the red zone, 17 in the yellow zone, and 10 in the green zone. The CHPP modernization program will be continued on a systematic basis with the aim of annually reducing wear and tear and transferring facilities from risk zones to safe operation zones.

As part of the implementation of the President's instruction, in December 2024, the Government approved the National Project "Modernization of the Energy and Utilities Sectors" (hereinafter referred to as the National Project), which launched long-term preferential financing of a large-scale repair campaign for the housing and utilities infrastructure. The National Project includes the development of generating capacities, improvement of natural monopoly areas, support for domestic producers and socially vulnerable groups of the population, as well as the introduction of digital technologies to automate processes. More than 200 infrastructure companies are involved in the process. The key indicator is a reduction in the depreciation of facilities by up to 40%.

According to the National Project, about 6.8 trillion tenge of investments will be attracted for the modernization of 86 thousand km of utility networks. Among them: 1.6 thousand km of heat supply networks; 77.6 thousand km of power supply networks; 4.7 thousand km of water supply networks, 2.6 thousand km of wastewater disposal networks. This will reduce the number of accidents by 27%. Investments in the amount of 6.2 trillion tenge will be attracted for the modernization and construction of new power generation, which will reduce the depreciation of stations by 15% and introduce additional generation sources in a total volume of 7.3 GW.

Today, there are 55 energy producing organizations operating in the country, of which 19 stations have a depreciation rate of over 65%. The volume of electricity generation is 113 billion kWh, while electricity consumption is higher - 115 billion kWh. Thus, according to preliminary forecasts, it is necessary to attract about 13 trillion tenge of investments to the energy and utilities sectors to implement the National Project for 5 years.

It should be noted that the main share of funds will be attracted from private financial institutions (second-tier banks - STB, international financial organizations - IFO, industrial development fund - IDF).

In general, the following financing mechanisms are envisaged: direct financing (BRK, STB, MFO, FRP); co-financing; bonds; budget loans; capital of private monopolies; leasing financing. An individual financing model is selected for each enterprise. In order to increase the investment attractiveness of the National Project, changes have been made to the tariff methodology, allowing for the return on investment and guaranteeing the necessary levels of cash flows.

In addition, the possibility of subsidizing the interest rate on loans is being worked out, which will reduce the impact on tariffs. In order to mitigate the tariff burden for socially vulnerable groups of the population, targeted social assistance will be provided to reimburse the costs of paying for utilities. Along with this, 48 natural monopoly entities (96 projects) with a high level of asset depreciation, which have confirmed documents and are ready for financing for a total of 144.5 billion tenge for the repair and replacement of 1,347 km of utility networks and 3,047 units of equipment have been reviewed and identified.

As part of the modernization and construction of energy and utilities infrastructure, it is planned to use domestic production as much as possible. Through the implementation of the National Project, it is planned to fully load Kazakhstani enterprises producing housing and utilities products. It is also planned to build another 27 production facilities with an investment volume of about 190 billion tenge and the creation of 3.5 thousand new jobs. The involved volume of production of domestic enterprises will amount to about 4.4 trillion tenge. This approach will not only increase domestic competitiveness, but also reduce dependence on imports and strengthen the position of "local" enterprises in the market as a whole.

The implementation of the National Project includes measures to support socially vulnerable groups of the population, procurement rules using a single platform to combine all regulated purchases, the introduction of new digital technologies within the framework of the automation of modernization processes for information and communication infrastructure facilities of the system operator, etc.