The university received the status of a university in 2000 on the basis of the Kazan branch of MPEI. The Kazan branch was founded in 1968 and in 2018 the university celebrated its 50th anniversary. For nine years, the university was headed by the corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, honored worker of science and technology of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tatarstan, doctor of technical sciences, professor Yury Gayazovich Nazmeev. Since 2003, the rector of the university was Yury Yakovlevich Petrushenko, doctor of physical and mathematical sciences, professor, laureate of the M. Lomonosov Order, honored worker of science of RT. At the end of 2011 Kazan State Power Engineering University was headed by Candidate of Technical Sciences, Associate Professor Edward Yunusovich Abdullazyanov.
Kazan State Power Engineering University is one of the three specialized power engineering universities in the country (the other two are Moscow Power Engineering Institute (Technical University) and Ivanovo State Power Engineering University) and occupies one of the leading places in the region by the level of education, technical equipment and conditions for scientific work and educational process. The university provides training of specialists in 14 directions of bachelor’s and master’s degrees and in 11 directions of diploma specialists (31 specialties) on full-time, evening and correspondence forms of education.
The university trains specialists for the power systems of the Volga region, as well as for the countries of the near and far abroad. Students undergo practical training at energy enterprises of Kazan, the Republic of Tatarstan and the Volga region. Today about nine thousand students and postgraduates from different regions of the Russian Federation, CIS countries, Asia and Africa study at the university.
The university carries out the retraining of personnel and raising the qualification of specialists in various fields of production, science and technology.
The educational process is provided with highly qualified personnel. More than 21,2% (576 people) of professors are doctors of sciences, professors, 70,2% have scientific degrees and ranks (doctors of sciences — 73 people, candidates of sciences — 328 people). By the level of qualification of the teaching staff KSEU takes one of the leading places among all technical universities of Russia.
On the basis of KSEU carries out its activities scientific research institute of energy problems, designed to solve problems in the field of heat and electricity, electrical engineering and electronics, environmental protection and rational use of resources of the Republic of Tatarstan, the Volga region and the Western Urals. In terms of volume and level of scientific works performed, KSEU is one of the best universities of the Russian Federation.