BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 28. Kazakhstan aims to achieve a sustainable energy surplus by 2029, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said in his Address to the People of Kazakhstan, according to the presidential press service.
"Under current conditions, electricity supply has become a decisive factor in the competitiveness of every state and even its economic sovereignty. The reality we have entered is, in essence, the 'era of electricity'. For Kazakhstan, it is critically important to transform its resource advantage into sustainable energy and technological progress," Tokayev said.
He pointed to persistent challenges in the country's energy sector, including a shortage of qualified specialists and delays in bringing new generating capacity online.
"Despite the fact that energy issues are discussed at forums and in discussions with remarkable frequency and on a large scale, Kazakhstan's energy sector faces a serious deficit every year," he said.
According to Tokayev, during peak winter demand, Kazakhstan purchases electricity from neighboring countries at high prices and then sells it back in summer at sharply lower prices.
"This is a rather simple 'business' model that has continued for decades. I am assured that this is normal practice in the energy sector," he said.
Tokayev also referred to the stalled construction of the Balkhash thermal power plant and delays in commissioning generating capacity in Turkestan, Kyzylorda, Almaty and Ekibastuz.
Tokayev said Kazakhstan produces 123 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in a year, which he described as catastrophically insufficient for a country developing its industrial sector, construction and agro-industrial complex while pursuing comprehensive economic digitalization and the introduction of artificial intelligence, including the construction of data centers.
He stressed that Kazakhstan's strategic objective was to achieve a sustainable energy surplus by 2029.
"To this end, we must build new power plants and modernize existing ones and power transmission lines, fully develop clean coal-fired generation, and pay attention to renewable energy, primarily solar power plants," Tokayev said.
