Kazakhstan plans to stop importing electricity from Russia by 2027 as new domestic energy facilities come online, Deputy Energy Minister of Kazakhstan Sungat Yessimkhanov stated.
“If we commission all the planned energy facilities by the end of this year or the beginning of next year, then I think we will not be buying [electricity from Russia] at all in 2027,” Yessimkhanov said, Russia’s state-run news agency TASS reports.
Kazakhstan expects a power deficit of 1 billion to 1.2 billion kilowatt-hours this year, which it plans to cover through imports from Russia. Yessimkhanov noted that the country’s electricity shortfall reached 2.1 billion kWh in 2024, but said the gap is gradually shrinking.
In January, Kazakhstan’s Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov said the country was working on 81 energy projects with a combined capacity of 15.3 gigawatts and total investment exceeding 13 trillion tenge, or more than $25 billion. Many of the projects are expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2027.
Kazakhstan is currently one of Russia’s largest electricity buyers. Russian data shows the country accounted for around 60% of Russia’s electricity exports in 2025.
At the same time, Russian electricity exports to China have sharply declined due to power shortages in Russia’s Far East and increasing competition from China in Central Asia.
Russian state-controlled electricity exporter ‘Inter RAO’ reported that exports rose 5.8% year-on-year in the first quarter to 2.12 billion kWh, with most deliveries going to Kazakhstan and Georgia.
Kazakhstan has also reduced Russian involvement in several major energy infrastructure projects.
Authorities earlier excluded Russian participation from thermal power plant projects in Semey, Kokshetau and Ust-Kamenogorsk. The Kokshetau project will be built independently, while the other two are being developed by a Kazakh-Singaporean consortium involving state-owned ‘Samruk-Energo.’
Russia had previously been expected to provide concessional financing for the projects, valued at $2.7 billion, with ‘Inter RAO’ acting as the main contractor. However, financing difficulties delayed the plans.
Kazakhstan also revised plans for a third generating unit at the Ekibastuz GRES-2 power plant, replacing Russian equipment with technology from China’s ‘Harbin Electric International.’
The Energy Ministry says the project cost fell from 650 billion tenge to less than 400 billion tenge, saving around $500 million.
In another setback for Moscow, Kazakhstan last year selected China instead of Russia to build two nuclear power plants, First Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar stated. Feasibility studies and project documentation are currently being prepared.
