Kyrgyzstan

Country Profile

(.pdf file - 275 kB)

1. Overview

2. Policy and Incentives

3. Wind

4. Biomass

5. Solar

6. Geothermal

7. Hydroelectric

8. Links

9. References

10. Country Contacts

Kyrgyzstan per capita income is very low compared even to other low-income countries. Following independence, readjustment from the Soviet period and the Russian financial crisis of the late-nineties, the country has had several years of stability and economic growth.

Poverty levels are high but falling (official figures note a fall from 55 percent to 41 percent between 1999 and 2003). Poverty is exacerbated by worsening job opportunities in the non-rural economy. As in the rest of the region, economic collapse, conflict, rising inequality, non-payment of wages and fragmenting social safety nets are all major contributing factors to deteriorating social indicators.

The Kyrgyz electricity system forms part of the central Asian electricity system that was developed in the Soviet times.  Upon independence Kyrgyzstan inherited the power stations and lines located on its territory, and still maintains close links with neighboring countries for operational purposes.

After independence, a vertically integrated, state owned utility was formed to generate, transmit, distribute and supply electricity throughout the country. This utility was also responsible for the operation on the district heating networks in Bishkek, Osh and some other towns. This utility company was eventually transformed into JSC Kyrgyzenergo, with most shares owned either directly or indirectly by the State. The remaining shares (about 7 percent) were issued to employees and sold via a mass privatization program. Kyrgyzenergo has recently been unbundled into separate generation, transmission and distribution companies.

Energy sector reform in Kyrgyzstan more or less mirrors similar reforms that have already taken place in countries in Central and Eastern Europe,  reduction of energy use by removal of state subsidies (resulting in increased cost to the consumer), promoting the financial health of utility companies through better billing practices, and promotion of private sector participation that will inject needed capital into the system. Removal of tariff subsidies has been and will continue to be gradual.

Kyrgyzstan has approximatley 3.6 gigawatts (GWe) of generating capacity, about 80 percent of which is hydroelectric. Kyrgyzstan imports 67 billion cubic feet of natural gas per year, mostly from Uzbekistan.

The Government of the Kyrgyz Republic has now agreed to the principle of pursuing private sector participation in the largest distribution company, Severelectro, by means of a concession. In addition consideration is being given to attracting private sector participation in the remaining three distribution companies through the award of management contracts.

Total losses amount to 55.2 percent of the total amount of electricity entering the transmission system.  The losses in the electricity system can be divided into two types, technical and non-technical. Technical losses occur in all transmission and distribution networks and cannot be entirely eliminated. They can however be kept to a minimum through good network design and maintenance.

Non-technical losses occur as a result of the difference between the amount of electricity distributed to customers and the amount that is actually paid for. These losses therefore occur because of the following:

·          Theft

·          Faulty meters - resulting in the amount of electricity used being under-recorded.

·          Incorrect records - distribution company customer records not being correctly maintained resulting in some customers not being billed.

·          Non - payment

Kyrgyzstan Country Summary Table

The projected and actual energy resource production and consumption

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Kyrgyzstan's energy policy is heavily weighted toward development of its large hydroelectric power resources and expansion of its electricity grid.

The Kyrgyztan government took steps in 1998 and 1999 to set the legal foundation for the development of Kyrgyzstan's energy market, with the intention of leading to the commercialization and privatization of Kyrgyzstan's energy sector. Laws were adopted related to electric power, oil & gas, energy conservation, and licensing, and private ownership of land. There was also a law enacted concerning foreign investment. The Kyrgyz State Energy Agency worked out guidelines for rate policies, and set up rules for users of electricity and district heat.

The Government of Kyrgyzstan has established the state project “Kun” to coordinate the development of renewable energy sources. 

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A country wide wind atlas is available, and according the atlas there are some large areas with wind speeds between 4 - 5 m/s only.  Although there has been minimal wind development activity, Kyrgyzstan has a fair potential for wind energy development. 

The “Master Plan of Wind Power Development of the USSR till 2010”, released in 1989, included a country-level wind map (shown below). According to this wind atlas Kyrgyzstan's wind power resources are limited to 4-5 m/s at 30 m height. However, some of these areas are adjacent to the Kazakhstan border, where wind speeds as high as 6 m/s are indicated, for example to the north of the capital city of Bishkek.

The 90 billion kWh/y technical potential, corresponding to 2500 MW installed capacity, estimated in this study seems to be derived from the vast areas available for wind energy development. A more reasonable estimate may be closer to 1500 MW.

Under these circumstances the technical wind energy resource potential of Kyrgyzstan is good.

The most promising areas are:

·          Chuisk district (North Kyrgyzstan)

·          Osh district (South Kyrgyzstan)

·          Issyk-Koul district (East Kyrgyzstan)

·          Djelal-Abad district (West Kyrgyzstan)

Wind Atlas of Kyrgyzstan

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Kyrgyzstan occupies about 200,000 km^2, located in the center of Eurasian continent, on the high mountain range of Tien Shan and the Pamirs. The total area of agricultural lands in the Republic is about 10 million hectares including 1.2 million hectares of lands under cultivation. Among the latter there are 800 thousand hectares of irrigated lands, growing 90 percent of plant products. More than 50 percent of agricultural lands are occupied by pastures that determined the main branch of agriculture – livestock breeding. The livestock waste, which could be used after processing in biogas plants, constitutes approximately 2500 thousand tons per year.

A majority of rural population (that constitutes about 65 percent of a total population of the country, i.e. more than 3 million people) has no opportunities to acquire a fuel for preparing food and heating. Therefore the majority of forest stands are cut out. Practically all lands under cultivation (1200 thousand hectares) obtained by individuals from the collective farms have been cleared without re-fertilization or harvesting for more than 10 years. The methane emissions from cattle waste, which is decomposed in the open air, annually constitutes more than one million cubic meters.

Kyrgyzstan Biomass Resource Data

Biomass resource type	Total production	Production density
Percent of total land area covered by
Forests	6%
Shrublands, savanna, and grasslands