"Qazaq Green" Association discussed the current situation in the power industry

On November 22, 2021 RES Association "QAZAQ GREEN" with the support of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Foundation held a round table on the topic: "The current situation in the electric power industry of Kazakhstan: challenges and problems." The event was attended by the Vice Minister of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan Zhumabay Karagaev, Deputies of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan Dyusenbay Turganova, Edil Zhanbyrshin, Yeldos Abakanov, Chairman of the Board of Samruk-Energo JSC Sungat Yesimkhanov, Managing Director of KEGOC JSC Zhandos Nurmaganbetov, heads of relevant departments of the Ministry of Energy Kazakhstan, representatives of the business community, public organizations, international financial institutions.

In the speech of the Vice Minister of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan Zh. Karagaev, it was noted that the beginning of the autumn-winter period in the electric power industry is always a test of the stability of the Unified Energy System of the country.

It is no secret that this year the system has faced new challenges. In view of the sharp increase in electricity consumption due to the rapid development of digital mining, a generation deficit arose in the system, which was aggravated by the emergency failure of power units at key power facilities in the country.

“If we take historical data, then our energy consumption has been growing by approximately 1-2% in recent years. Maximum 2% per year. But over these 10 months, we are seeing an anomalous growth of around 8%. This is a fairly large increase in consumption. Here we are talking about 1000-1200 MW of electricity and, of course, we associate the increase in consumption with the increase in consumption by miners,” Zh. Karagaev said.

Deputy of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan Dyusenbai Turganov noted that for the rapid development of renewable energy, our Unified Electricity System of the country, the basic generation of which is based on traditional coal-fired power plants, turned out to be absolutely unprepared for new trends. The shortage of maneuvering capacities and the virtual inability to regulate the system has led to a growing dependence on flows from neighboring states.

The round table touched upon topics and problems important for the industry: the growing energy shortage, the economy's need for electricity, the impact of new directions in generation (RES with energy storage systems) and consumption (digital mining of crypto-currencies) on the electric power industry, the need for new flexible capacities, the use of market mechanisms (demand management, balancing market), issues of attracting investments in the electric power industry, goals to achieve carbon neutrality and the readiness of both the state and business to transform the industry.

There are still a lot of factors that the round table did not have time to talk about. So, it is necessary to insert external factors into the general equation for the development of the electric power industry, such as the introduction of a common electricity market of the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (2025), the introduction of tax to carbon footprint in the European Union (2023), Kazakhstan's obligations under the Paris Agreement (2030). ).

As a result of the round table, a proposal was put forward to initiate an appeal addressed to the Head of State with justifications for the need to develop a Concept for the development of the electric power industry, which would correspond to the State Planning System and be approved at the highest level.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4GzW0ZZxfE

30.12.2021