The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is lending €61.7 million to the Kyrgyz Republic to modernize its electricity grid, the bank said. The loan comes with an investment grant of up to €3 million and €3 million in technical cooperation funds to support procurement and supervise construction. The financing will upgrade the country’s national electricity transmission infrastructure, improving reliability, better integrating renewable energy, and cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
The money will help the National Electric Grid of Kyrgyzstan—the state-owned transmission and distribution company—build a new 53-kilometer, 500 kV transmission line between Kemin and Balykchy near Issyk-Kul in the northeast. A new 500 kV substation will also go up in Balykchy.
Decades of underinvestment have left the country’s hydro-rich electricity sector struggling. About 90 percent of substations across the Kyrgyz Republic are over 25 years old, and technical and commercial losses across the transmission and distribution network currently hit nearly 14.6 percent—well above international standards.
The upgrades should reduce electricity losses by 34 GWh annually and cut greenhouse gases by 3,323 tonnes of CO2 equivalent each year. Beyond domestic improvements, the stronger infrastructure will help the Kyrgyz Republic export surplus clean hydroelectric power to neighboring countries, supporting the region’s broader shift toward cleaner energy.
The EBRD has been working in the Kyrgyz Republic since 1992, investing almost €1.15 billion through 280 projects, mostly in sustainable infrastructure and the private sector.