/IRBIS, April 04, 01/ - According to GSRW, the US's Access Industries, Inc., owner of the Bogatyr and Severny open-pit mines at the Ekibastuz deposit and the largest coal producer and supplier in Kazakhstan, has increased coal prices by 11% to 500 tenge per tonne from 1st April. This has launched a chain reaction. The American-run Ekibastuz nuclear power plant (the owner of the GRES-1 hydroelectric plant) has notified its customers of an 8% rise in electricity tariffs due to the increased coal prices. The Eurasian Power Corporation (which runs the Aksu hydroelectric plant) has also increased its electricity tariff by 8%.