The new protocol to the agreement on the transit of Russian electricity through Kazakhstan to Kyrgyzstan allows Kazakhstan to supply its own electricity to its southern neighbor during surplus hours, said Nurzhan Kerimkulov, Managing Director for System Services and National Grid Development at KEGOC, Kursiv reports.
"There is currently a transit agreement [for electricity] from Russia to Kyrgyzstan through Kazakhstan, but a new protocol has been signed between the [energy] ministries stating that during surplus hours, Kazakhstan will supply its own electricity to Kyrgyzstan. Only during surplus hours, mostly at night," he stated,
Peak electricity consumption occurs during the evening period when Kazakhs return home and use appliances and light bulbs to the maximum. However, consumption drops at night, which provides an opportunity to sell this electricity to miners or to other countries. According to Kerimkulov, the Kazakh side will try to maximize the opportunities for exporting electricity to Kyrgyzstan.
"This is within the technical capability. We will try to supply as much as possible," said Kerimkulov, without specifying the price at which Kazakh electricity would be supplied to Kyrgyzstan.
In April of this year, the Russian energy company "Inter RAO," the sole operator of electricity exports and imports in Russia, began supplying electricity to Kyrgyzstan in transit through Kazakhstan. From April to March 2024, about 900 million kWh is planned to be delivered along this route. The company also mentioned the possibility of increasing deliveries to the declared volume of electricity shortage in Kyrgyzstan, up to 3 billion kWh. The only limitation is the capacity of Kazakh power grids, with up to 400 MW being supplied per hour.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
October 6, 2023