Regulatory

Almaty, Kazakhstan

Raushana Chaltabayeva

Our experts have delivered landmark regulatory projects across the heat supply, hydropower, geothermal, and renewable energy sectors, including reforms to electricity tariff formation, auction mechanisms, and carbon-neutrality regulations. By combining legal, economic, and policy expertise, Unicase develops clear, predictable, and investment-ready regulatory solutions that enhance sector governance and support Kazakhstan’s transition to a modern, competitive, and energy-efficient economy.

Unicase regularly participates in drafting, reviewing, and modernising legislation, using best international standards such as tariff-setting methodologies, policy-stability principles, incentive schemes for market entrants, and models of regulatory governance adopted by the OECD, EU, and leading global jurisdictions.

This example illustrates the core strengths of Unicase’s Regulatory Practice:

• Sector-leading regulatory expertise;
• National legislation drafting experience;
• International-standard policy solutions;
• Strong relationships with government and IFIs.

Today, Unicase continues to support governments, regulators, IFIs, and private sector clients in building resilient, transparent, and investment-ready regulatory environments across Central Asia.

Unicase’s regulatory practice is a recognised leader in Central Asia, advising governments, regulators, IFIs, and major industry players on the development and modernisation of national legislation. Our team specialises in energy law, utilities regulation, renewable energy legislation, tariff regulation, carbon capture, natural monopolies, and environmental and land-use frameworks. We support clients with drafting and amending laws, analysing regulatory gaps, creating incentive schemes, and aligning Kazakhstan’s legal framework with international standards to attract investment and ensure long-term sector sustainability.

Partner

Almaty, Kazakhstan

Almaty, Kazakhstan

Astana, Kazakhstan

Unicase led a multi-year reform of Kazakhstan’s heat supply sector, reviewing national legislation on district heating, autonomous systems, industrial heat utilisation, taxation, tariff regulation, and planning instruments, and drafting the new Law on Heat Supply and related normative acts between 2019 and 2022. The firm benchmarked OECD/EU best practices, identified legal gaps and long-term development scenarios, and created an investment-ready framework to modernise the sector.

Unicase analysed Kazakhstan’s electricity tariff formation and balancing services for large and small hydropower plants and drafted legislative amendments introducing incentive tariffs and cost-reflective pricing based on international models. This work contributed directly to the Government’s Hydropower Industry Development Plan 2020–2030, approved on 4 September 2020, aimed at improving energy security, expanding flexible generation capacity, and enhancing investment conditions for hydropower development.

Unicase advised on the modernisation of Kazakhstan’s renewable energy regulatory framework, including amendments to the Law “On Support of Renewable Energy”, the Tax Code, and carbon-offset rules, and analysed the 2017 Auction Rules and related qualification, security, and selection mechanisms. The firm drafted legislative amendments to strengthen the auction system, improve investment predictability, support carbon-neutrality goals, and align the sector with international best practices.

Between 2021 and 2022, Unicase conducted a review of Kazakhstan’s geothermal regulatory environment, assessing legal, permitting, licensing, institutional, monitoring, and data-collection frameworks. Supported by technical and international consultants, the firm identified regulatory gaps limiting geothermal development and prepared detailed recommendations on tariff design, licensing optimisation, institutional reform, and sector governance.

Unicase advised on advancing renewable energy development in the CAREC region, strengthening national legal frameworks, supporting the implementation of the Law on Additions and Amendments to the Renewable Energy Laws, and analysing Central Asia’s electricity market. The team reviewed regulations on renewable energy procurement, tariffs, and investment mechanisms, assessed market structures and state participation, and supported legal solutions for renewable electricity offtake and compliance with international climate commitments under the UNFCCC (since 2000), Kyoto Protocol (2003), and Paris Agreement (2019).

Unicase advised the EBRD on the 66 km BAKAD Almaty bypass, the largest PPP infrastructure project in Central Asia. The firm’s mandate focused on regulatory and contractual oversight, including review of EPC compliance, monitoring project implementation, and ensuring alignment with EBRD standards, including labour, governance, and gender requirements.

Unicase supported international legal counsel and their client on the development of a carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS/CCS) project in Kazakhstan. The firm advised on the regulatory framework, legal barriers, health and safety requirements, and the legal status of the Caspian Sea for potential subsurface use, and coordinated engagement with relevant state authorities.

Unicase advised the EBRD on railway tariff reform in Kazakhstan, drafting amendments to the Law on Natural Monopolies and related by-laws and translating economic recommendations into legal mechanisms on profit regulation, asset revaluation, WACC, and subsidies. The firm also advised on simplifying tariff approval procedures and addressing cross-subsidisation to align the framework with international standards.

Unicase advised the Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan and JSC “Uzbekhydroenergo” on the country’s first pilot public-private partnership project in the hydropower sector, implemented with the support of the World Bank. The project aims to introduce PPP mechanisms in small and medium-sized hydropower development to diversify the energy mix and attract private investment, in line with Presidential Decree No. PF-101 dated 9 April 2022.

Unicase advised the EBRD on developing a regulatory model to support small-scale renewable energy projects in Uzbekistan. The work included identifying legislative amendments, preparing grid-connection agreements and tariff methodologies, amending grid rules to integrate distributed energy resources, and contributing to a national roadmap for scaling small-scale renewable technologies.

100+

national laws and regulations

sector-wide reforms

20 major

10+ years

of regulatory expertise