Kazakh Energy Ministry denies 1990s comparisons, cites threefold drop in Almaty power outages

July 28, 2026 at 01:39 PM1 min

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The Energy Ministry pushed back on comparisons of Almaty’s summer power outages to the 1990s, citing an official threefold drop in grid disruptions over three years. The acting head of the state energy oversight committee said such incidents are local and resolved within hours, even as residents have likened recent blackouts to the crisis era.

Outage Statistics

Yernar Khasenov, acting chairman of the State Energy Supervision Committee, said technological violations on power lines in Almaty and the Almaty region fell threefold over the past three years. He stated that routine outages still occur but are typically eliminated within 24 hours, sometimes within three hours. No absolute figures were provided for comparison.

Infrastructure Investment

Khasenov announced the planned construction of the Komsomolskaya substation to supply additional capacity to Almaty and the surrounding region, where electricity consumption continues to rise. Vice Minister of National Economy Asan Darbayev said 13 trillion tenge would be allocated for energy and housing modernization, with 3.8 trillion tenge earmarked for power grid upgrades.

Uralsk Oversight

Asked about separate blackouts in Uralsk, Khasenov said the committee would investigate West Kazakhstan REC. If the facts are confirmed, he added, the utility could face administrative liability. The commitment signaled a willingness to hold regional grid operators accountable for service reliability.