Kazakhstan intends to abandon electricity imports from Russia starting 2027 - Deputy Energy Minister

ASTANA. May 5 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan plans to abandon electricity imports from Russia in 2027, Deputy Energy Minister Sungat Yesimkhanov said.

"In 2025, we produced 123.1 billion kWh and consumed 124.6 billion kWh, meaning the difference was 1.5 billion. In 2024, the difference was 2.1 billion, so this figure is decreasing. This year we plan for this difference to be below 1.5 billion, and in 2027 we intend to bring it to zero," Yesimkhanov said at a government briefing on Tuesday.

Thanks to the commissioning of new capacities, an increase in electricity generation is planned this year, he said. "We are not waiting for the construction of a nuclear power plant. A new thermal power plant will be commissioned in Kyzylorda this year," he said.

It was previously reported that the commissioning of 2.6 GW of generating capacity in 2026 would allow Kazakhstan to solve the electricity shortage problem in Q1 2027. By the end of 2029, the country plans to commission 13.3 GW of new capacity, of which 5.9 GW comes from renewable energy sources.

Kazakhstan imported 3.7 billion kWh of electricity last year. The energy deficit is exacerbated by the high level of wear and tear on generating capacities and power grids.

As part of ensuring energy sovereignty, the Kazakh government is working to commission more than 26 GW of new generating capacity by 2035, including nuclear and "clean" coal generation projects.

Kazakhstan covers its electricity and capacity deficit through imports from the neighboring power systems of Russia and Uzbekistan.