EIA: Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan lead in Eurasian electricity growth
Electricity demand across Eurasia saw robust growth in 2024, with an overall increase of 4%, according to the latest outlook from the International Energy Agency (IEA), Trend reports.
The demand growth was largely driven by the region’s expanding population and economic development. Looking ahead, the IEA projects that electricity demand in Eurasian markets, excluding Kazakhstan and Russia, will continue to grow at an average annual rate of 3.7% between 2025 and 2027.
In Uzbekistan, electricity generation saw a notable rise of 4.7% in 2024. While the country's energy mix remains predominantly reliant on gas, Uzbekistan is actively working to diversify its sources by investing in renewable energy. The government has set ambitious goals, aiming to increase its wind and solar power generation capacity to 20 GW by 2030.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan also witnessed a 4% growth in electricity demand in 2024, a significant improvement compared to the previous year. However, the country experienced a 3% decline in electricity production, with a notable 10% drop in fossil-fired thermal generation. This decline was offset by a substantial increase in hydropower output. Electricity exports from Azerbaijan, however, saw a sharp decline of nearly 60%.
In Turkmenistan, the energy sector continued its expansion in 2024, with the country increasing electricity exports to neighboring countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Turkmenistan’s electricity exports to Kyrgyzstan, which began in 2021, reached 1.6 TWh in 2023, and the country planned to increase this figure to between 1.7 and 2 TWh in 2024. Notably, Turkmenistan also reached an agreement with Uzbekistan to ramp up electricity supplies to 4 TWh per year, although specific trade volumes remain undisclosed.
