Kazakhstan, Astana, April 16 / Trend D. Mukhtarov /
In Kazakhstan the price of one ton of coal over the past three years has doubled, the chairman of the House Committee on Economic Reform and Regional Development, Seytsultan Aimbetov, said on Monday.
"In Kazakhstan, the price of coal in the context of the four suppliers of the major producers in 2009 was on average 941 tenge per ton (about 65 cents at the rate of $1 - 147.7 tenge), and in 2011 it doubled," said Aimbetov, commenting on the growth of marginal electricity rates in the country.
As an example, he cited the major Ekibastuz-1 thermal power station where in 2009 the maximum rate was 3.6 tenge per kW / h, and in 2012 it rose to 6.5 tenge, i.e. an increase of 80 per cent. He noted that a similar increase occurs in the thermal energy.
"It should be noted that the fuel component (coal, fuel oil, gas) in tariffs for services for the production of electricity and thermal energy is about 70 per cent and is the predominant one which is reflected in the cost of electricity," Aimbetov reminded.
He said that today the price for coal and fuel oil is not regulated by the state. A similar situation exists with jet fuel which led to a sharp jump in its value on the domestic market. In turn, this affected raising ticket prices because jet fuel is a major component of the fare for air travel and takes the share of up to 30 per cent.
"Therefore, in order to curb the growth of tariffs in the socially important services for electricity, heating supply and passenger transportation, the government needs to balance the interests of consumers and entities engaged in the production and sale of fuel," Aimbetov concluded.