From April 2025 through March 2026, fossil fuels supplied about 85% of Kazakhstan’s electricity, while low-carbon sources provided just under 15%. Coal alone accounted for more than half of electricity consumption, at about 54%, and gas supplied almost 30%. Within the clean electricity mix, hydropower contributed roughly 8% of total electricity, wind nearly 5%, and solar about 2%. Kazakhstan therefore remains heavily dependent on fossil electricity, leaving considerable scope to expand clean generation and reduce the climate impacts and air pollution associated with fossil fuels.

Is Electricity Growing in Kazakhstan?

Kazakhstan’s latest figures show a mixed picture rather than clear growth across the board. Electricity consumption in 2026 reached about 5,900 kWh per person, still 194 kWh—or roughly 3%—below the historic record of 6,105 kWh per person set in 1990. This comparison does not establish whether consumption rose from the immediately preceding year, but it does show that the earlier peak remains unrecovered. Low-carbon electricity generation, meanwhile, reached a new record of about 870 kWh per person, slightly above the 2025 record of 862 kWh. That small improvement is welcome, but much faster clean electricity growth would help meet future demand from electrification and AI.

Suggestions

Kazakhstan should pursue a strong combination of nuclear, solar, and wind generation, supported by expanded transmission and storage. Relevant regional examples include Slovakia, where nuclear supplies about two-thirds of electricity, and Czechia and Belarus, where it provides roughly 40%; these demonstrate the substantial contribution nuclear can make to a clean electricity system. For solar, Kazakhstan can learn from sunny regions such as the US state of Nevada, which generates about 35% of its electricity from solar, and Chile, at roughly 24%. Its broad, open landscapes also make wind an important avenue to explore: the US states of Kansas and South Dakota generate about half or more of their electricity from wind. Drawing on these examples, Kazakhstan can build a much larger low-carbon electricity supply rather than relying predominantly on coal and gas.

History

Kazakhstan’s recorded low-carbon electricity history was initially dominated by hydropower. In the late 1980s, hydro generation increased by 1 TWh in 1987 and 1.3 TWh in 1988. Gains of 0.8 and 1.5 TWh in 1993–1994 were followed by declines totaling 2.6 TWh across 1995–1997. Hydro recovered with increases in 2000 and 2002, before a decline in 2008; further gains came in 2010 and 2015–2016, including a substantial 2.4 TWh increase in 2016, followed by another decline in 2018. Since 2020, growth has become more diversified: solar added 1 TWh in 2020, while wind added 0.7 TWh in 2021, 1.3 TWh in 2023, and 1.1 TWh in 2025. Hydropower’s strong 2.5 TWh increase in 2024 was partly offset by a 0.8 TWh decline in 2025, underscoring the importance of sustained expansion across multiple clean electricity sources.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade

* 12M = Last 12 months (Apr 2025 – Mar 2026) — a rolling 12-month period, not a calendar year.