The electric power industry in Kazakhstan includes the following sectors:
Electricity generation sector
Electricity in Kazakhstan is generated by 233 power plants of various forms of ownership. As on 01 January 2025 the total installed capacity of power plants in Kazakhstan was 25,314.2 MW and available capacity is 21,034.6 MW. Power plants are classified into: nationally significant power plants, industrial power plants, regional power plants.
Nationally significant power plants include large thermal power plants, which generate and sell electricity to consumers in the wholesale electricity market of the Republic of Kazakhstan:
Additionally, large hydropower plants are used to supplement and regulate the load schedule of the Unified Power System (UPS) of Kazakhstan:
Industrial power plants include CHPPs (combined heat and power plants) that produce both electricity and heat, supplying large industrial enterprises and nearby settlements with power and heat. These include:
Regionally significant power plants are CHPPs integrated with local territories, supplying electricity through regional power grid companies and transmission organizations, while also providing district heating for nearby cities.
Electricity Transmission Sector
Power grids of the Republic of Kazakhstan are a set of substations, switchgears and interconnecting transmission lines of 0.4-1150 kV, designed for transmission and (or) distribution of electric energy.
The national power grid (NPG) serves as the backbone of the unified power system (UPS) of the Republic of Kazakhstan, providing electrical connections between the regions of the republic and the power systems of neighbouring countries (the Russian Federation, the Kyrgyz Republic, and the Republic of Uzbekistan), as well as delivering electrical energy from power plants and transmitting it to wholesale consumers. Substations, switchgears, interregional and (or) interstate power transmission lines and power transmission lines supplying electric power from electric power plants with a voltage of 220 kV and above, which are part of the UPS, are on the balance sheet of KEGOC.
The regional-level network provides electricity connections within regions, as well as transmission of electricity to retail consumers. The regional-level networks are maintained and operated by regional network companies (hereinafter, RNCs).
Electricity transmission companies (ETCs) transmit electricity through their own or used (rent, leasing, trust management and other types of use) networks to consumers on the wholesale and retail market or to electricity supply companies on the basis of contracts.
Electricity supply sector
Until April 1, 2024, the retail electricity market of the Republic of Kazakhstan was supplied by both regulated and non-regulated electricity supply organizations (ESOs). From April 1 to December 31, 2024, non-regulated ESOs ceased operations, transferring their consumers to regulated ESOs. Starting from January 1, 2025, all electricity supply functions have been transferred to electricity transmission organizations that have obtained a license for electricity supply A total of 21 licensed electricity transmission organizations purchase electricity from the single electricity buyer, renewable energy sources, and/or net consumers, then resell it to end retail consumers. These organizations also perform the role of "guaranteed electricity suppliers."
Electricity market of the Republic of Kazakhstan
The wholesale electricity and capacity market in Kazakhstan consists of:
The wholesale electricity market operates on the basis of buying and selling planned electricity volumes, which are included in the daily production-consumption schedule approved by the system operator.
The real-time balancing electricity market functions to physically and subsequently financially settle hourly imbalances that arise during operating days between actual and planned electricity volumes.
System and ancillary services market operates based on both:
The purpose is to ensure compliance with national reliability standards of the Unified Power System (UPS) of Kazakhstan and to maintain electricity quality standards.
The capacity market is designed to attract investments for both the maintenance of existing and construction of new generation capacities within the UPS of Kazakhstan to meet the demand for electrical capacity.
Centralized electricity trading refers to purchase and sale transactions conducted between:
The wholesale electricity market participants include entities listed in the registry compiled by the system operator, such as:
- Renewable energy sources (RES)
- Secondary energy resources
- Energy recovery from waste
To be included in the registry, a legal entity must enter into the following agreements:
At the same time, agreements for the provision of system services are concluded with:
Electricity consumers, provided their average daily (base) power consumption is at least 1 MW;
Electricity supply organizations (with a valid license for electricity procurement for supply purposes) that meet the requirement of supplying at least 1 MW of average daily (base) power consumption.
Additionally, the wholesale electricity market participants also include:
Single Electricity Purchaser and Settlement Centre of the balancing electricity market
As of July 1, 2023, amendments to the Law "On Electricity" came into effect, regulating the operation of the wholesale electricity market with the introduction of the Single Electricity Purchaser and the real-time balancing electricity market.
The target market model envisions a transition to centralized purchase and sale of planned electricity volumes. This means that all electricity generated by power producers is sold to the Single Electricity Purchaser. The only exception is the direct purchase and sale of electricity between consumers and electricity-generating organizations that belong to the same corporate group.
Electricity is centrally procured from domestic power plants one day in advance, according to the following priority order:
If domestic power plants are unable to fully cover the daily electricity schedule, planned electricity imports are carried out.
At the same time, the real-time balancing electricity market ensures the settlement of imbalances within the Unified Power System (UPS) of Kazakhstan, distributing them among market participants responsible for deviations.
Participation in the balancing market is mandatory for all wholesale electricity market participants.
The centralized purchase and sale of electricity on the balancing electricity market (BEM) for imbalance settlement is conducted by the Balancing Market Settlement Centre.
By orders of the Ministry of Energy, dated June 6, 2023:
To ensure the operation of the new market model, in accordance with the Law "On Electricity", and based on relevant agreements, the system operator provides market participants with:
The NPG use service is provided to wholesale market participants when they conduct electricity purchase and sale transactions on both the wholesale and balancing electricity markets. This is due to the lack of direct allocation of electricity distribution (i.e., it is impossible to determine the exact transmission route from producer to consumer).
The system operator will provide electricity transmission services via the NPG to the following entities:
With the transition to the new model, KEGOC continues to play one of the main roles in the market and performs the following main functions:
Provides system services, including the new “NPG use service”.
Operates the modernized hardware-software complex – the Balancing Market System, which serves as the primary tool for the operation of the wholesale electricity market and balancing market management, integrating the "Single Electricity Purchaser" and "Balancing Market Settlement Centre" modules
Physically settles electricity imbalances within the energy system by activating price bids from domestic market participants, ranked in a prioritized list, as well as through contractual agreements for deviation settlement with the Russian Federation and Central Asian countries.
Link to the website of the Balancing Electricity Market System for Wholesale Electricity Market Entities: https://bems.kegoc.kz/
