Kazakhstan's 384 billion tenge grid repairs barely dent 53% power plant wear

August 31, 2026 at 05:00 AM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

Kazakhstan allocated 384 billion tenge for energy infrastructure repairs in 2026, up 9% from the previous year. Even this spending will reduce grid wear by only a couple of percentage points, according to Ranking.kz data cited by Orda.kz. The repair campaign covers nine power units, 55 boilers, and 51 turbines, with work underway on three units, 33 boilers, and 24 turbines.

Key Facts

Kazakhstan allocated 384 billion tenge for energy infrastructure repairs in 2026, a 9% increase from 2025.
Repairs will reduce power plant wear from 53% to 52%, electricity grid wear from 66.2% to 65.7%, and heat network wear from 50% to 48%.
Heat network repairs received 196.8 billion tenge, 34% more than in 2025, covering 246 of 377 planned kilometers by late August.
Atyrau Region leads heat network repair progress at 96%, followed by Pavlodar at 91% and Astana at 90%.
Petropavlovsk Heating Networks, formerly part of Alexander Klebanov and Sergey Kan's CAEC holding, transferred to municipal ownership.

Repair Scope and Funding

The 2026 repair program targets nine power units, 55 boilers, and 51 turbines at power plants. Work is currently underway on three power units, 33 boilers, and 24 turbines. Power line and substation repairs are progressing faster, with 91% of 17,100 kilometers of lines and 84% of 444 substations completed by late August. Heat network repairs are funded from multiple sources: 98.1 billion tenge from the national project, 49.9 billion from the republican budget, 24.2 billion from local budgets, 16.2 billion from tariffs, and 8.4 billion from the government reserve.

Regional Disparities

Atyrau Region has completed 96% of its heat network repair plan, the highest rate in the country. Pavlodar Region follows at 91%, Astana at 90%, Kostanay at 88%, Karaganda at 85%, and West Kazakhstan at 81%. All other regions have completed less than 74% of their plans, prompting authorities to demand acceleration before the heating season.

Wear Reduction and Ownership Change

After all repairs, power plant wear will fall from 53% to 52%, electricity grid wear from 66.2% to 65.7%, and heat network wear from 50% to 48%. Petropavlovsk Heating Networks, previously part of the CAEC energy holding controlled by Alexander Klebanov and Sergey Kan, has been transferred to municipal ownership. Authorities justified the transfer by the need for modernization and efforts to restrain tariff growth.