Kazakhstan's KEGOC fails to introduce electricity market balancing system on time - ministry

ASTANA. July 17 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan's grid operator KEGOC has failed to meet the schedule for putting the electricity market balancing system into operation, the Energy Ministry said in a press release.

"The system operator KEGOC JSC did not put into operation the program complex, which is an automated mechanism of the balancing electricity market in real time," it said.

The functioning of the sole electricity purchaser mechanism in real time depends on the automation system.

The ministry the supervising deputy head of KEGOC accountable for the failure to meet the deadline for the introduction of the program complex and ensure the full functioning of the program.

The mechanism of the Sole Electricity Purchaser and the real-time balancing electricity market was introduced in Kazakhstan from July 1, 2023.

It is designed to ensure the energy security of the country, namely to eliminate speculation in the purchase and sale of electricity, reduce unproductive intermediaries, minimize deviations in interstate balance-flows of electricity at the border with neighboring energy systems and the like.

According to the definition, the balancing electricity market system is a hardware-software complex designed for submitting applications for the purchase and sale of energy by wholesale market entities , the formation of a daily schedule for the production and consumption of electricity, the determination of the volume of centralized electricity trading for digital miners and energy-producing organizations, making adjustments to the approved daily schedule agreed by the system operator, forming the actual values of electricity production and consumption, calculating hourly imbalances, electricity purchase and sale prices on the wholesale market.

KEGOC owns and manages the national grid. Assets include 27,000 kilometers of 220-1150 kV power transmission and 82 substations.