From April 2025 through March 2026, about 68% of Kyrgyzstan’s electricity consumption was supplied by low-carbon hydropower. Net imports supplied another 22%, or just over a fifth; the data do not identify whether that imported electricity came from clean or fossil sources. Fossil generation supplied about 10%, mainly coal at roughly 9%, with gas contributing around 1%. Hydropower therefore dominates domestic electricity supply, while imports also play a substantial role.

Is Electricity Growing in Kyrgyzstan?

The available figures do not establish whether Kyrgyzstan’s overall electricity consumption is growing: that requires comparable consumption totals for different periods. There is an encouraging recent increase in hydropower generation, which rose by 2 TWh in 2024, following declines of about 1 TWh in both 2021 and 2022. However, this recovery alone does not demonstrate sustained growth in total electricity supply or consumption. Continued expansion of clean electricity would help meet future demand from electrification and new industries.

Suggestions

Kyrgyzstan can increase low-carbon electricity generation by expanding and modernizing hydropower while adding solar, suitable wind projects, and considering nuclear power. Armenia offers a relevant regional example, generating about 29% of its electricity from nuclear, while Slovakia obtains roughly two-thirds from it. These examples support examining how nuclear could complement Kyrgyzstan’s existing hydro-based system. For solar, Kyrgyzstan could study North Macedonia, where solar supplies 40% of generation, and the US state of Nevada, where it supplies about a third. Wind also merits site-specific assessment, drawing lessons from Lithuania, where it generates 43% of electricity. These shares demonstrate what different clean technologies can achieve, although local resource assessments, grid planning, and investment are needed to translate those lessons into additional generation.

History

Kyrgyzstan’s recorded low-carbon electricity history is a story of substantial hydropower gains interrupted by worrying setbacks. In the 1990s, generation rose by 2.6 TWh in 1994 and 1.1 TWh in 1996, then fell in 1997 and 1998 before rebounding by 2.2 TWh in 1999. The early 2000s brought another alternating sequence: growth in 2000, declines in 2001–2002, and recovery in 2003–2004, followed by a sharp 2.6 TWh decline in 2008. During the 2010s, gains of 0.9 TWh in 2010 and 3 TWh in 2011 were followed by declines in 2013 and 2015, before a strong 2.7 TWh recovery in 2017. More recently, consecutive declines in 2021–2022 were followed by the welcome 2 TWh increase in 2024, underscoring the importance of sustained growth and a broader clean electricity mix.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade

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