The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is assisting Kazakhstan in strengthening the resilience and sustainability of its electrical grid by investing in a local currency bond issued by Kazakhstan’s grid developer, JSC Kazakhstan Electricity Grid Management Company (KEGOC).
EBRD has planned to invest KZT6 billion in KEGOC’s first tenge overnight index average (TONIA)-linked floating local currency bond, which will be listed on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE). The local currency lending instrument, TONIA, was developed by KASE, the National Bank of Kazakhstan, EBRD, and the country’s leading financial institutions, to help local investors when issuing bonds. EBRD investment will support KEGOC in repairing overhead transmission lines in the Aktobe, Western and Sarbay networks. Technical assistance provided by the Climate Investment Funds of EBRD will help KEGOC in reducing transmission losses and allow KEGOC to accommodate the large-scale renewable energy integration as part of Kazakhstan’s decarbonisation strategy.