Kazakhstan's spending on electricity imports from Russia surged 87% year-on-year to $156 million in January-May 2026, the highest level since at least 2020, reports infohub.kz.
Physical shipment volumes increased more modestly, by 25% to 1.37 billion kWh, also a seven-year high for the period (though close to the 1.31 billion kWh recorded in 2023).
The main driver of higher spending was the price of electricity itself. The average cost per kilowatt-hour rose 49% year-on-year to $0.11. In tenge terms, the increase was approximately 42%.
Kazakhstan uses imports from Russia mainly during peak consumption hours — mornings and evenings — when domestic generation capacity cannot always meet demand. The need to quickly cover shortfalls during peak times affects the cost of purchases.