ALMATY, Kazakhstan – Thirty-five years after gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Kazakhstan has emerged as Central Asia’s largest economy. Driven primarily by energy exports and infrastructure investments, the world’s ninth-biggest country in land area continues to diversify through its renewable energy (RE), transport, finance and technology sectors while strengthening regional trade links between Europe and Asia.
Although the city of Almaty lost its capital status to Astana in 1997, it remains Kazakhstan’s leading commercial, financial, cultural and international business hub today. With a population exceeding 2 million, Almaty is the country’s most populous city, which supports the thriving tourism, logistics, education, media and food industries across this landlocked nation that lies between Russia and China.
Kazakhstan’s power industry is undergoing modernization through grid upgrades, RE expansion, and planned nuclear development to meet rising demand and improve long-term security. Electricity distribution in Almaty is managed by two private firms that obtain their power supply mainly from the state-owned generation company, Almaty Electric Power Stations.
Compared with consumers in Metro Manila, electricity users in Almaty pay far lower rates per kilowatt-hour (kWh). Residential rates in the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) franchise area encompassing the National Capital Region and surrounding provinces reached a record high of P14.35 per kWh as of April 2026 — around 3.5 times higher than what their counterparts in Almaty are paying.
This current “bill shock” among Meralco’s 8 million customers has been compounded by the surge in global oil prices, weakening of the peso vis-à-vis the US dollar, seasonal demand and a growing public debate over why certain costs are billed as pass-through charges. Many consumers reported seeing their bills jump by 25 to 30 percent even when their usage habits have not changed.
But there is a point in the Philippine energy conversation that rarely gets to be discussed: dirty power and expensive power are part and parcel of the same electric bill. Meralco draws 52 percent of its power supply from liquefied natural gas (LNG) and 35 percent from coal — both fossil fuels that are mostly imported and dollar-denominated. Both have a direct impact on the consumer’s bill every time the peso weakens and the Middle East war tightens the global fuel supply.
Hydro and geothermal power
On the other hand, provincial electric cooperatives rely heavily on hydro and geothermal power which are renewable, peso-denominated and indifferent to oil market volatility. Such utilities are much smaller and have less funding than Meralco, yet they simply built their energy supply mix around cleaner, more stable sources. Thus, they charge their customers between P9.00 and P12.00 per kWh or 16 to 32 percent lower than those in the metropolis.
The RE share in Meralco’s supply mix has stayed at approximately 10 percent, mostly coming from hydro and solar power. According to the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC), Meralco’s heavy reliance on bilateral contracts for at least 85 percent of its generation charges makes it vulnerable to global market shocks. The ICSC study showed that as long as the generation mix is dominated by imported LNG and coal, consumers will remain at the mercy of the US dollar and Middle East tensions.
In contrast, Almaty’s power companies are expanding RE supply through wind, solar and small hydro projects aimed at reducing coal dependence and urban pollution. Meralco’s management can draw several useful lessons from their experience, particularly in balancing affordability, energy security, urban growth and environmental transition.
For instance, Kazakhstan’s aging Soviet-era energy infrastructure forced urgent modernization on Almaty’s utilities. Meralco can avoid similar risks by continuing investments in smart grids, automated substations, digital metering, predictive maintenance and underground distribution systems.
Moreover, the severe winter smog in Almaty pushed its utilities toward cleaner fuels and gas conversion. Metro Manila may eventually face similar pressure as urban pollution and climate concerns grow — like in the case of the ongoing haze caused by the Navotas landfill fire. Even though the Philippines cannot exactly replicate Kazakhstan’s coal economics, government policymakers should determine how to reduce system losses and pass-through fuel costs.
Overall, Almaty’s experience shows both the advantages and drawbacks of low-cost, fuel fossil-based electricity: affordability and industrial growth on one hand, but aging infrastructure and environmental problems on the other. Metro Manila’s challenge is achieving cleaner and more reliable power without driving up already high electricity prices.
The author is The Manila Times Sustainability Magazine executive editor. He is a member of the Finex Environment Committee and its Sustainability Handbook’s Editorial Board.