Strengthening Power System Security in Kyrgyzstan: A Roadmap

The EU4Energy programme is a six-year initiative led and funded by the European Union. One of its key goals is to enable greater application of evidence-based energy policy and decision-making in participating countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.* The International Energy Agency (IEA), the Energy Community and the Energy Charter support the project, with the IEA taking lead responsibility for the policy development dimensions. As part of this programme, the IEA has prepared this high-level policy roadmap to help inform and guide policy practitioners as they seek to develop and implement policies to strengthen power system security in Kyrgyzstan, with a focus on improving power system reliability and resilience during periods of water shortage.

The analysis and proposals advanced in this document provide an integrated approach incorporating a suite of practical regulatory, supply-side and demand-side measures that reflect international experience and best practices. It avoids detailed prescription, recognising that Kyrgyz policy practitioners are better placed to draw on their local knowledge and experience to address practical details as they emerge. Accordingly, the roadmap’s proposed measures and pathways are intended to inform and guide the development of effective policies and programmes to help strengthen power system reliability and resilience, especially during periods of water shortage.

This paper begins by discussing power system security concepts and principles, focusing on how power system security is managed during normal operating conditions and how this can change in hydro-dependent power systems during periods of sustained water shortage. A description of the policy context for power system security in Kyrgyzstan follows. It highlights the key challenges for strengthening power system security, and provides an overview of the policy, legal, regulatory and institutional arrangements governing power system security in Kyrgyzstan. Finally, an integrated high-level policy roadmap is presented, including proposed strategic goals and a range of practical policy measures to pursue power system security over the next decade.

*Countries participating in the EU4Energy programme are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.