A single electricity market will begin operating in Kazakhstan, starting from January 1, 2019.
Electricity trading is planned on the basis of centralized site of the Committee for Regulation of the Natural Monopolies, Protection of Competition and Consumer Rights under the National Economy Ministry. This was stated by the head of the department Kanat Bozumbayev.
The operation of a single capacity market, according to Bozumbayev, will create a competitive market for existing power plants, which will identify the most productive energy producers.
This model will also attract investments to create new and upgrade existing facilities, he said.
“Within the framework of creating a capacity market, a single buyer mechanism is introduced on the wholesale electric power market. In addition, unified tariffs are introduced, which should be, on the one hand, fairly transparent, and on the other hand, competitive. Tariffs on the wholesale market will be divided into two components – charge for capacity and payment for electricity,” the minister said.
It was planned to launch a unified capacity market in 2016, but due to the crisis these plans were postponed to a later date.
The electric power industry remains a key factor in Kazakhstan’s industrial development and economic growth. The government of Kazakhstan has developed an action plan for electric power development up to 2030, which includes a list of proposed power plants for modernization or reconstruction as well as the construction of new facilities.
Electricity in Kazakhstan is generated by 118 power plants of various form of ownership. The total installed capacity of power plants in Kazakhstan is 22055.5 MW and available capacity is 18789.1 MW. (AzerNews/Business World Magazine)