Illustration: AI
Kokshetau CHP has ruled out gas as a fuel option for its planned 280 MW plant. The launch is scheduled for the third quarter of 2028. Gas was dropped because the area has no gas supply network and a steady supply cannot be guaranteed. Coal will be the main fuel (kursiv.media).
What happened
The company outlined its construction plans in a statement of proposed activities. In its 2025 reporting, the operator gave a different launch date: April 1, 2029. The new target falls between July and September 2028, earlier than the date in that reporting.
The main fuel will be Ekibastuz coal from Bogatyr Komir. The plant will have three steam boilers and two turbine units, each rated at 140 MW. The combined heat and power plant, or CHP plant, is intended to supply Kokshetau with both heat and electricity.
The main plant will have a hot-water heating capacity of 820 Gcal per hour. An additional boiler house with a capacity of 300 Gcal per hour is planned within the complex. A 357-hectare site has been allocated for the energy complex.
What this means
Gas is no longer being considered as an alternative fuel in the proposed project. Meanwhile, a main gas pipeline from Ishim in Russia through Petropavlovsk and Kokshetau to Astana is scheduled to enter service in 2030. Deputy Energy Minister Kaiyrkhan Tutkyshbayev cited that date in February.
“Gas may be considered as an alternative fuel for the CHP plant,” the company’s statement says. The document then rules out this option because there is no gas supply network and a steady supply cannot be guaranteed.
Under these plans, the coal-fired plant is due to start operating before the gas pipeline. Kokshetau still lacks a large CHP plant to provide the city with heating and hot water. The new plant is being built to supply the city with heat and electricity.
How the plant will be built
Construction and installation work is expected to take 26 months. The project has three commissioning stages: the first provides for a boiler house with two hot-water boilers, each with a capacity of 150 Gcal per hour. Two steam boilers and one turbine unit will then be installed, followed by another boiler and the second turbine unit in the final stage.
The site has no water source of its own. Water is expected to come through the Kokshetau group water supply system, which draws from the Sergeyevka Reservoir. Three tanks, each holding 15 thousand cubic metres, are planned in case the supply is interrupted, providing a three-day reserve.
In its 2025 reporting, the operator noted that the construction schedule depended on contractor availability and the pace of work. At that time, the planned launch date was April 1, 2029.
