BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 10. Kazakhstan has
increased average funding for energy infrastructure repairs by 27%
ahead of the 2026-2027 heating season, reducing equipment wear at
power plants to 52%, the press service of the country’s government
reports.
The figures were announced by Minister of Energy Yerlan
Akkenzhenov, who reported on the readiness of the country’s energy
infrastructure for the autumn-winter period.
According to him, as part of the preparations, repairs were
completed on eight power units, 49 boilers and 37 turbines at power
plants. Regional electricity networks underwent repairs covering
17,100 kilometers of power lines and 444 substations. Work on 377
kilometers of heating networks was also completed.
“Funding for repair work has increased by an average of 27%. As
a result, equipment wear at power plants has decreased to 52%,
electricity networks to 65.7%, and heating networks to 48%. The
number of technological disruptions has decreased by an average of
6% compared with last year,” Akkenzhenov said.
The minister added that consumers are being supplied with
electricity and heat, while technological disruptions are being
addressed within the established timeframes. The heating season is
proceeding as normal.
Notably, Kazakhstan’s electricity system has to serve a vast
territory with sharply different climatic conditions, connecting
major cities, industrial centers and regional power systems across
the country’s steppe and semi-desert landscapes. The backbone of
this network is the Unified Power System, whose national grid
includes nearly 28,000 kilometers of overhead transmission lines
and 83 substations. These high-voltage routes carry electricity
from power plants to major consumers and link the northern,
southern and western parts of the country, as well as neighboring
power systems.
Kazakhstan’s electricity generation is concentrated in the north
and northeast, where major coal deposits, including the Ekibastuz
basin in Pavlodar Region, supply large thermal power plants. The
south, with its major cities, industrial facilities and
agricultural consumers, has a smaller generation base and therefore
relies partly on electricity transmitted from the north through
high-voltage power lines. The country’s energy mix is dominated by
thermal power plants. Hydropower, large-scale wind and solar
facilities, and rooftop solar installations account for much of the
remaining output.
The reliability of this infrastructure becomes especially
important during winter, when prolonged sub-zero temperatures drive
up demand for both electricity and district heating. Kazakhstan has
an extremely continental climate: winters in the north and east are
long and severe, with temperatures in some areas falling below
-40°C, while southern regions generally experience milder
conditions. The difference is also reflected in the length of the
heating season, which ranges from around 151 days in the south to
as many as 222 days in the north. At the same time, ageing power
generation equipment, electricity networks and heating pipelines
remain a challenge for the sector.
