One of the largest buyers wants to abandon electricity imports from Russia
Illustrative photo: Kazakhstan could abandon Russian energy as early as this year (Getty Images)
Kazakhstan plans to completely stop purchasing electricity from Russia by 2027, thanks to the launch of its own generating capacity, according to The Moscow Times.
According to Kazakhstan’s Deputy Energy Minister Sungat Yesimkhanov, abandoning Russian imports will become possible once all planned energy facilities in the country are commissioned. This is expected to happen in late 2026 to early 2027.
"If we commission all our planned facilities, then in 2027, I think we will not purchase electricity from Russia at all," he said.
For now, Kazakhstan remains dependent on supplies from Russia, although import volumes are gradually decreasing:
- In 2024, the electricity deficit amounted to 2.1 billion kWh;
- In 2026, the gap between domestic production and economic demand is expected to be around 1–1.2 billion kWh.
To address this issue, the country is implementing 81 projects with a total capacity of 15.3 GW. Investments in modernizing the sector exceed $25 billion.
Kazakhstan is one of the largest buyers of Russian electricity — in 2025, it accounted for about 60% of all Russian supplies.
Yesimkhanov recently said Russian contractors are no longer involved in the construction of three thermal power plants in Kazakhstan. He added that another consortium will carry out the work, with the plants scheduled to be launched in 2029.
In recent months, Astana has shown readiness to reconsider approaches to issues traditionally seen as sensitive in relations with the Kremlin. In particular, a draft of Kazakhstan’s new constitution proposes changes to the status of the Russian language.
Currently, the basic law states that Russian is used "on equal terms" with the state Kazakh language. The new version proposes replacing this wording with "alongside Kazakh."
