Meta Data
Title in national language: 
Закон Республики Казахстан "О естественных монополиях и регулируемых рынках" (№. 272 от 1998 г.)
Draft: 
No
Revision of previous policy?: 
No
Draft Year: 
1998
Effective Start Year: 
1998
Effective End Year: 
2018
Scope: 
National
Document Type: 
Law
Economic Sector: 
Energy, Power
Energy Types: 
Coal, Oil, Power, Gas, Renewable, Other
Issued by: 
Office of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Overall Summary: 
The policy establishes frameworks for the regulation of natural monopolies in the Republic of Kazakhstan and aims – through restraining monopolistic activities and balancing the interests of all market actors – to ensure sustainability and competitiveness of the national economy. The policy concentrates on the following areas: 1) transportation of oil and oil derivatives via trunk pipelines, 2) storage and transportation of gas via trunk or distribution pipelines, operation of natural gas pipelines, 3) power transmission, distribution and dispatch, 4) heat generation, transmission and distribution, 5) railway system and railway services under concession agreements, 6) telecommunication services, 7) water and sewage sectors. Among issues specifically addressed by the Law is the need to ensure the balance of production and consumption in power / heat generation. Dimensions of regulation include: tariff setting, standardization / technical regulation, and investment incentives. The policy seeks to pursue market decentralization through a variety of instruments. --- The Law aims to put in place appropriate financial incentives for improving current market environment. The focus is made on measures to support greater presence of financial investors in natural monopoly markets. Considerable attention in this respect is given to the legal procedure for launching investment programs in natural monopoly industries.
Renewable Energy
RE feed-in tariffs: 
Art. 3, 4 and 18. Exemptions from price regulation are made with respect to feed-in tariffs introduced to increase the use of renewable energy in power and heat generation. The regulation complies with provisions of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the Promotion of Renewable Energy Sources.
Pricing
Energy pricing: 
Art. 7-1 and 7-2 focus on the price determination issues. Provisions are made for tariff regulation and control over tariff setting for specific categories of power, heat, oil and oil supply goods and services. Comparative approach is being proposed with respect to methodology development. --- Art. 15 provides detailed rules for tariff setting. Under the regime contemplated by the present law, a specialized government agency is mandated with tariff regulation, design and implementation of investment incentives. --- The policy stresses the role of the agency in price formation; it stipulates that the categories of goods and services subject to tariff regulation shall be defined by the agency. Furthermore, the regulator carries out the analysis of market conditions and monitors recent market trends and developments. To ensure greater market transparency and sustainability, tighter regulation conditions are implied in case of price distortion. --- Art. 3 introduces the concept of low-capacity natural monopoly entity and stipulates that a flexible approach in tariff setting applies to public heating entities (considered a low capacity natural monopoly).