Representatives of KAZENERGY Association took part in a round table on the topic "The current situation in the power industry of Kazakhstan: challenges and solutions", organized by QAZAQ GREEN Renewable Energy Association.
The round table touched upon important topics and problems for the industry: the growing energy shortage, the needs of the economy for electricity, the impact of new directions in generation (RES with energy storage systems) and consumption (digital mining of cryptocurrencies) on the electric power industry, the need for new maneuverable capacities, the use of market mechanisms (demand management, balancing market), issues of attracting investments in the electric power industry, goals to achieve carbon neutrality and the readiness of both the state and business to transform in the industry.
The electric power industry needs to focus on solving old problematic issues inherited from the Soviet past and new challenges dictated by the global conjuncture, build a common policy for all sectors of the economy, determine how structurally the electric power industry should change, at the expense of which energy sources in the long term the industry will fuel the economy: coal, gas, nuclear energy, and how much the share of RES electricity should be in order to achieve all the country's obligations.
It is also necessary to insert external factors into the general equation for the development of the electric power industry, such as the introduction of a common electricity market of the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (2025), the introduction of a carbon footprint tax in the European Union (2023), Kazakhstan's obligations under Paris Agreement (2030).
The participants and experts of the round table noted the lack of a common vision - a strategy for the development of the industry. This issue is especially important now, when the system is running at maximum and can no longer cover the economy's demand for electricity.
Following the results of the round table, QAZAQ GREEN Renewable Energy Association plans to initiate an appeal addressed to the Head of State with justifications for the need to develop a Strategy for the development of the electric power industry that would correspond to the state planning system.
