The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Kazakhstan Electricity Grid Operating Company (Kegoc) have signed a financing deal worth 58.2 billion tenge (US$123 million) to expand the high-voltage transmission network in the southern region of Kazakhstan.

The expansion will allow the integration of large-scale renewable power generation into the electricity grid, reinforce and stabilize power transmission in the country’s south, and improve Kazakhstan’s energy security.

The financing will support the construction of 500-kilovolt (kV) overhead transmission lines and the reconstruction and renovation of the Shu, Jambyl, and Shymkent 500-kV substations. These enhancements are expected to increase transmission capacity by 75% and improve the stability of energy supply by eliminating overloading and reducing transmission losses. 

"ADB’s partnership with Kegoc will assist Kazakhstan in achieving its net-zero emission goals by reaching its energy transition and renewable energy expansion targets,“ says ADB director general for private sector operations Suzanne Gaboury. “This project will enhance the grid, prepare it for utility-scale renewable energy, reduce power transmission losses, and eliminate economically harmful outages.”

Since 2017, ADB has been instrumental in supporting grid enhancement efforts in Central West Asia through its knowledge and support technical assistance programme.

Established in 1997, Kegoc is the system operator of Kazakhstan’s unified energy system. Its majority shareholder is the sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna.

In May, the energy ministries of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan signed a memorandum at the Tashkent International Investment Forum, aiming to interconnect the energy grids of the three countries.

The plan includes examining the feasibility of laying a high-voltage cable along the seabed of the Caspian Sea and optimizing the trading of green energy.