Kyrgyzstan’s energy sector is to be placed under a three-year state of emergency given climate conditions, low water flow in the Naryn River and shortages of electricity and power generation capacity.

President Sadyr Japarov signed a decree specifying, as proposed by energy minister Talaibek Ibraev, that the emergency regime should run from August 1 this year to December 31, 2026.

Under the regime, the energy ministry will have the right to determine and allocate land for the construction of power plants.

The ministry will also coordinate the energy project actions of the deputy agriculture and deputy nature ministers supervising land and water resources, officials who deal with water difficulties, the Hydropower Institute of the National Academy of Sciences, the Cadastre State Enterprise, Kyrgyzgeology state enterprise and local state administration heads.

State-owned enterprises, joint stock companies and their subsidiaries in the energy sector are to be told to procure goods, works and services from one source.

Ibraev told fellow ministers at a cabinet meeting last week that it “is necessary to adopt urgent measures to resolve problems in energy sector”.

Electricity shortages would amount to 3bn kWh in 2023 and would worsen in the next few years, he added.

The energy ministry forecasts Kyrgyzstan’s electricity consumption will amount to 17.2bn kWh in 2023 and will grow to 19bn kWh by 2026.

Landlocked, mountainous Kyrgyzstan—a country with a population of 7mn and 2021 GDP of $8.5bn—is planning for a rapid build-up of its hydropower sector but lacks capital. Seventeen hydroelectric power plants (HPPs) are currently under construction in the country, with plans to launch 11 next year. 

Kyrgyzstan has proposed to international creditors that they swap debt owed by Bishkek for stakes in green energy projects.

"Almost all the energy generated in Kyrgyzstan is green, since it is produced from hydropower. So far, only about 13 percent of our electrical potential is used. For the development of this sector, our country needs foreign investment, and we are ready for the closest cooperation in this area," President Japarov said in late May at the Central Asia-China Summit that took place in the northwestern Chinese city of Xian.

He added that he believed that Kyrgyzstan has the potential to build up its power generation capacity to export electricity to countries with a total population of more than two billion people.

The World Bank lately approved $67.7mn to finance the first phase of the Kyrgyz Renewable Energy Development Project. The project aims to increase renewable energy generation and promote private sector participation in Kyrgyzstan.