Kazakhstan increases its power deficit

According to Energy Minister of Kazakhstan Almasadam Satkaliyev, Kazakhstan’s energy consumption increased from 112.9 billion to 115 kilowatts last year. The energy production level hasn’t changed though and is at 112.8 billion kilowatts per hour.

«In 2023, the consumption of electricity was at 115 billion kilowatts per hour (112.9 billion kilowatts per hour in 2022), while the power production was at 112.8 billion kilowatts per hour (112.8 billion kilowatts per hour in 2022). Kazakhstan imported 3.4 billion kilowatts per hour from neighboring countries and exported 1.4 billion kilowatts,» he said during a cabinet meeting.

As of January 2024, the joint available power of power stations in Kazakhstan was 20.4 gigawatts, compared to 15.4 gigawatts of working capacity. During this cold season, consumption reached 16.6 gigawatts at its peak, while the maximum power production was at 15.1 gigawatts. Power stations are worn out by 56% on average.

As Satkaliyev noted, the United Energy System of Kazakhstan is operating quite well in parallel with the energy systems of the Russian Federation and Central Asian countries. There are 220 power stations in Kazakhstan; 144 of them use renewable sources of energy. Their total capacity is 2.8 gigawatts. Last year, 16 new renewable energy stations with a capacity of 495.6 megawatts were put in service in the country.

In 2022, Kazakhstan’s production of electricity decreased by 1.4% to 112.9 billion kilowatts per hour. This happened in the northern zone particularly. At the same time, energy consumption also declined by 0.8% to 112.9 billion kilowatts per hour in 2022, although the southern zone reported an increase in power consumption by 1.1%.