Kazakhstan may stop importing Russian electricity from 2027, official says

Kazakhstan may cease importing electricity from Russia starting in 2027, as the country expands its own domestic energy capacity, Sunkar Esimkhanov, Deputy Energy Minister, has stated.

During a press briefing, he said that such a move could be made if new domestic power facilities are launched by the beginning of next year, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

“This year we forecast that the difference (between domestic electricity generation and demand) will be about 1–1.2 billion kWh, and in 2027 we plan to bring this difference to zero,” Esimkhanov noted.

He made it clear that in 2024 Kazakhstan’s electricity deficit stood at 2.1 billion kWh, while in 2025 it was approximately 1.5 billion kWh, adding that “this figure is decreasing.”

He also recalled that in January, Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov said the country aims to fully meet its electricity demand through new capacity by the end of the first quarter of 2027.

According to him, work is underway on 81 projects with a total capacity of 15.3 GW and total investments exceeding 13 trillion tenge (over $25 billion).

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov