Message of the Chairman

Greetings of the day to You, our esteemed reader, who are visiting the official website of the Energy Regulatory Commission to learn more about our activities.

In 2024, the total electricity generation of Mongolia reached 8,754.7 million kWh, an increase of 226.4 million kWh or 2.7 percent compared to the previous year. Of the total electricity generated, 90.6 percent came from thermal power plants, 8.3 percent from solar and wind sources, 0.8 percent from hydropower plants, and 0.001 percent from diesel stations. Electricity imports amounted to 2,863.4 million kWh, showing an increase of 416.6 million kWh or 17 percent compared to the previous year.

The total electricity consumption of Mongolia in 2024 reached 11.6 billion kWh, a 5.9 percent growth compared to the previous year. The peak winter load reached 1,655 MW, an increase of 1.2 percent. Of the total consumption, 75.3 percent was supplied by domestic generation and 24.7 percent through imports.

With the commissioning of new facilities—including the solar power plant with a battery storage system in Erdene soum of Dornogovi province, the battery energy storage station in Baganuur district of Ulaanbaatar, and the first 150 MW block of the Buuruljuut power plant in Bayanjargalan soum of Tuv province—the power system successfully managed the heavy load of the 2024–2025 winter with relatively few challenges.

In 2023, the Energy Regulatory Commission reduced the sector’s financial losses by 140 billion MNT. Building upon this, in 2024, electricity tariffs were revised to reflect actual costs, thereby creating favorable conditions for the sector to operate without losses and to attract both domestic and foreign investment.

As one of the measures to overcome energy shortages, secure investment, and ensure reliable energy supply, the Government decided to align electricity tariffs with actual costs starting from November 15, 2024—marking the first step of energy sector reform. The average electricity tariff was raised from 216 MNT/kWh to 280 MNT/kWh, an average increase of 29.6 percent. For households, a tiered tariff system was introduced, varying between 30 to 85 percent depending on consumption levels.

In line with the characteristics of the energy sector, the introduction of a three-tiered tariff based on household consumption and a peak load tariff, which has been reformed and brought into line with market principles, has created an interest in controlling and saving energy consumption in order to keep household bills low, and in insulating homes and apartments for households that have decided to use electric heating, and this has had a positive impact, such as slowing the growth of peak load in the energy system.

To enable consumers to monitor and control their own electricity use, verify the accuracy of their bills, and make online payments, smart meters have been installed for 131,000 consumers within the service area of “Ulaanbaatar Electricity Distribution Network” JSC. In addition, research has been launched on the metering of household heating and thermal consumption. Furthermore, the feed-in tariff for electricity supplied by consumers with renewable energy systems has been increased to 300 MNT/kWh during evening hours, ensuring cost-recovery levels and creating a favorable economic environment for households to invest in small-scale generation and earn income by selling surplus electricity.

As a result of the tariff reforms, electricity revenues are projected to reach 546.1 billion MNT in 2025. Aligning tariffs with actual costs will allow, as a first step, for increases in sector employees’ wages and the planned implementation of maintenance and modernization works for generation sources, transmission, and distribution networks—critical to ensuring a stable and uninterrupted electricity supply.

In addition, under the tariff reforms, the price of coal supplied by the Baganuur, Shivee-Ovoo, and Sharyn Gol mines has been adjusted to reflect costs, and the tariff for domestic coal transport by “Ulaanbaatar Railway” JSC, which had long been operating at a loss, is now projected to break even starting in early 2025.

The Commission is not only adjusting tariffs but is also preparing regulations and methodologies to implement tariff indexation to ensure sector sustainability and protect consumers from heavy burdens. Under this system, tariffs will be periodically adjusted depending on inflation, the cost of new generation sources, exchange rates, and electricity import prices, thereby establishing a market-based tariff structure.

In 2024, the Commission, together with “National Dispatching Center” SOE, introduced the Unified Electronic System for Consumer Complaints Registration and Monitoring (https://consumer.energy.mn/). Training and registration have been conducted for 74 electricity and heat supply companies in Ulaanbaatar, enabling them to use the program to receive and resolve consumer complaints more effectively.

The Commission received and resolved a total of 2,239 consumer complaints, including 45 disputes related to debt settlements between license holders and consumers in 2024. As a result, consumers received refunds amounting to 234.9 million MNT, while 976.1 million MNT in payments were enforced from consumers to suppliers.

Under Government Resolution No. 199 (2017) on providing tariff discounts for electricity consumption in ger districts and the Commission’s Resolution No. 724 (2023), a total of 33.94 billion MNT in electricity tariff subsidies was provided in 2024 for households in ger districts with metered night-time and off-peak consumption.

In addition, enterprises and organizations have actively implemented energy-saving measures, contributing to overall energy sufficiency. In 2024, liable consumers carried out 916 types of energy efficiency activities, achieving potential savings of 16.6 million kWh of electricity and 57.3 thousand Gcal of heat, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 35.7 thousand tons.

We are confident that you, our esteemed reader, will continue to follow the activities of our organization and provide us with your valuable advice.

Respectfully,

Energy Regulatory Commission of Mongolia

E.TUVSHINCHULUUN