The government is concerned that increasing domestic electricity consumption means that Kazakhstan must import electricity from Russia and Kyrgyzstan, especially in the winter. The Energy Ministry says that hundreds of small and medium-sized hydroelectric power plants are required to generate environmentally friendly electricity.
However, the Kazakh Prime Minister, Daniel Akhmetov, noted that before building new hydroelectric power plants in southern Kazakhstan, existing but idle plants, such as the Movskaya plant, should be rehabilitated.
