BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 28. Kazakhstan aims
to achieve a sustainable energy surplus by 2029, President
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said in his Address to the People of
Kazakhstan, according to the presidential press service.


"Under current conditions, electricity supply has become a
decisive factor in the competitiveness of every state and even its
economic sovereignty. The reality we have entered is, in essence,
the 'era of electricity'. For Kazakhstan, it is critically
important to transform its resource advantage into sustainable
energy and technological progress," Tokayev said.


He pointed to persistent challenges in the country's energy
sector, including a shortage of qualified specialists and delays in
bringing new generating capacity online.


"Despite the fact that energy issues are discussed at forums and
in discussions with remarkable frequency and on a large scale,
Kazakhstan's energy sector faces a serious deficit every year," he
said.


According to Tokayev, during peak winter demand, Kazakhstan
purchases electricity from neighboring countries at high prices and
then sells it back in summer at sharply lower prices.


"This is a rather simple 'business' model that has continued for
decades. I am assured that this is normal practice in the energy
sector," he said.







Tokayev also referred to the stalled construction of the
Balkhash thermal power plant and delays in commissioning generating
capacity in Turkestan, Kyzylorda, Almaty and Ekibastuz.


Tokayev said Kazakhstan produces 123 billion kilowatt-hours of
electricity in a year, which he described as catastrophically
insufficient for a country developing its industrial sector,
construction and agro-industrial complex while pursuing
comprehensive economic digitalization and the introduction of
artificial intelligence, including the construction of data
centers.


He stressed that Kazakhstan's strategic objective was to achieve
a sustainable energy surplus by 2029.


"To this end, we must build new power plants and modernize
existing ones and power transmission lines, fully develop clean
coal-fired generation, and pay attention to renewable energy,
primarily solar power plants," Tokayev said.