- 7
- 23.05.2023 08:13:00
- 3 min read
According to Azim Ahmedkhojayev, the first deputy minister of energy, a new program of energy development will be presented in Uzbekistan by September 2023, which provides for the liberalization of gas and electricity prices and the introduction of social consumption norms.
A program for liberalization of gas and electricity prices will be presented in Uzbekistan until September this year. About it Gazeta.uz Azim Ahmedkhojayev, the first deputy minister of Energy, informed.
According to him, it is planned to liberalize energy prices and introduce social consumption norms through this program.
“We want to reduce energy costs and divide them into different tariffs in order to increase the efficiency of the activities of energy-intensive enterprises, as well as set long-term goals, since now one tariff for gas and electricity is set for each enterprise. Therefore, we want to separate them and approach each subject, each layer of business and society in Uzbekistan separately,” Azim Ahmedkhojayev said.
He argued that one of the main goals of the government was to eliminate obstacles to the effective functioning and growth of the electric energy sector.
Azim Ahmedkhojayev added that the Ministry of energy, together with international financial institutions and other organizations, is developing a new regulatory framework for the entire network, which will become the basis for future reforms.
"We are preparing the basis for the transition to a competitive electricity market in Uzbekistan. We are currently working on the program, according to which we will attract foreign companies and foreign experience in the transportation of electricity to the regions. We want to attract good managing companies that can show a new approach to electricity generation and delivery to the final consumer,” he said.
For this purpose, an independent regulator is established, which regulates market-based tariffs and the relationship between the energy producer and the consumer. According to ahmedkhojayev, the ministry is studying the experience of Azerbaijan in this regard, after testing, the regulator can work independently.
Recall that gas and electricity tariffs were last raised in August 2019.
Last year, from July 1, it was planned to switch to differentiated tariffs, increasing base tariffs for the population by 10 percent, but this did not happen. Tariff stratification-along with forcing consumers to save, it is envisaged that it will make it possible to reduce the payment of subsidies from the budget to the relatively wealthy and most energy-intensive population layer.
Economists cite the need to establish an open and competitive energy market in order to radically solve the problems of power outages and gas outages. The 2022 state program had set many tasks for initiating the same-line energy reform, but the implementation of Aksari was delayed.
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said in his address to Parliament at the end of 2022 that the transition to a free market in energy was the right path, but stressed that it would be gradual.
In February 2023, the Deputy Chairman of the central bank said that liberalization could begin in may, which was included in the inflation forecast.
And in March this year, the Ministry of Economy and Finance issued a statement that electricity and gas tariffs for domestic consumers in Uzbekistan will not be increased in 2023.
