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Public activists are raising serious questions about the transparency and effectiveness of Almaty's electricity provider, Alatau Zharyk Company (AZhK). Despite significant investments, residents are experiencing power supply issues, fueling concerns about how billions of tenge are being spent on infrastructure upgrades, smart meters, and substation repairs.

Smart Meters and Questionable Spending

Activist Svetlana Druzhinina points to AZhK's high expenditures on its automated commercial metering system (ASKUE) compared to other utility providers. She highlights that funds allocated in the company's 2015-2020 investment program for replacing basic meters with smart ones have not been fully utilized, with many areas in Almaty region and the city still using older meters.

Druzhinina expressed skepticism about the company's spending, stating, "My data shows that the company's expenses for maintaining ASKUE are only increasing. Now they are even spending money on improving software, but they are not installing meters." She previously wrote on Facebook about how AZhK allegedly converts ASKUE expenses into cash, with billions of tenge being written off annually. Druzhinina alluded to the difficulty of seeking justice from the monopoly, noting the potential influence of familial connections, as the current head of AZhK, Abay Asylov, is the younger brother of Kazakhstan's Prosecutor General, Berik Asylov.

Substation Repairs and Accountability

Another major concern raised by activists involves the repair of electrical substations in Almaty. Druzhinina claims that work scheduled for completion in 2025 has been repeatedly postponed. Consequently, these repairs have been re-included in the investment program for 2026-2030.

"This means that some substations are being repaired annually for millions of tenge, but they are not being fully modernized. Why? Because in previous years, the city authorities allowed dozens of residential complexes to be commissioned. The old substations do not have enough capacity, so we are forced to turn off electricity alternately under the pretext of emergencies," Druzhinina explained. She added that activists are denied access to information about the current condition of substations and how funds allocated for their maintenance are being spent.

However, Zhaksylyk Sagymbekov, AZhK's chief engineer, stated that there is no shortage of electricity in the city and region, and all work is proceeding as normal. He clarified that power outages are solely due to emergency restoration or planned maintenance activities. "In 2024-2025, the maintenance, technical servicing, and repair of electrical substations were carried out according to the approved production and investment programs. Funding for these activities was implemented in the prescribed manner," Sagymbekov responded.

Despite these assurances, the Almaty Mayor's office announced on February 19th that Mayor Yerbolat Dosayev (note: the source mentions Darhan Satybaldy, but recent reports indicate Dosayev is the current mayor) had instructed the acceleration of the city's energy grid modernization during a meeting. The plan includes the modernization of 379 km of power lines by 2026, with 269 km of these lines managed by AZhK.

This information was reported by Infohub.kz.