The largest hydroelectric power plants of Kazakhstan included in the new privatization plan
Kazakhstan has approved a new list of state-owned objects to be transferred to a competitive environment. According to the Agency for the Protection and Development of Competition, the list of 473 entities includes strategically important energy assets, including the largest and oldest hydroelectric power plants in the country. We are talking about the Shardara, Shulba and Ust-Kamenogorsk HPPs, as well as the Moynak hydroelectric power station named after U.D. Kantaev. Together with the production facilities, the privatization plan includes Qazaq Green Power PLC, which manages these facilities.
The process of consolidation of hydropower assets began earlier this year. Samruk-Energo Holding, which is part of the Samruk-Kazyna Fund, gradually transferred ownership of hydroelectric power stations to its subsidiary, Qazaq Green Power PLC. This made it possible to combine the assets of renewable energy sources and hydropower plants within one specialized company focused on the development of “green” energy. Now this consolidated market player is preparing to enter the competitive environment.
According to the antimonopoly authority, specific terms and mechanisms for the transfer of facilities to private investors have not yet been detailed, but the possibility of privatization is being considered starting in 2026. In the long term, it is planned that Qazaq Green Power PLC will enter the stock market: an initial public offering (IPO) is scheduled for the period 2029-2030.
Among the assets preparing for the change of ownership are the key elements of Kazakhstan’s energy system. A special place is occupied by the Shulbinskaya HPP, located 70 kilometers from the city of Semey. This is the third stage of the Irtysh cascade and the most powerful hydroelectric power station in the republic with an installed capacity of 702 MW. Another significant object of the cascade is the Ust-Kamenogorsk HPP, which performs the functions of a counterregulator for the Bukhtarminskaya HPP. The station, the construction of which began in 1939, has a rich history: the first turbine unit was launched in 1952, and the fourth in 1959. Its installed capacity is 367.8 MW, and the available capacity is 335 MW.
In the southern regions of the country, the Shardara HPP in the Turkestan region, which has been in operation since 1967 and has a capacity of 126 MW, is being prepared for privatization. The list also includes the relatively new Moynak HPP, located 150 kilometers from Almaty in the upper reaches of the Charyn River. Commissioned in 2012, this 300 MW plant plays an important role as a maneuverable source covering peak loads in the southern zone of the power system. The financial performance of the facility shows positive dynamics: in the first half of 2025, the station generated revenue of 8 billion tenge with an average annual output of more than 1 billion kWh.
Original (in Russian): Крупнейшие ГЭС Казахстана включили в новый план приватизации
