Ministry of Industry, Energy and Fuel Resources of Kyrgyzstan informs about begin of electricity rationing from October 1, 2009. Electricity will be rationed in every region of the country, including Osh and Bishkek cities from 24:00 to 05:00, "24.kg" reported.
Earlier, the Minister Ilias Davydov assured that this year electricity shortages will not exceed 16-18 percent, while in 2008 it hit 38 percent and outages reached 12 hours or more in some parts of the country.
The volume of water reached 12.55 billion cubic meters (bcm) this month. The level is likely to increase to 13.3 bcm later this year, which is 35 percent more than last year. However, this is still insufficient to secure an uninterrupted supply of energy. The minister promises the situation will change within the next 2-3 years.
Omurbek Babanov, the first vice-premier, in his turn, says the Toktogul water reservoir is expected to accumulate up to 7.5 bcm of water till April 2010, which will allow the country to avoid electricity shortages.
Meantime, Energy Ministry initiates electricity tariffs raise as in Kyrgyzstan it costs twice cheaper than in other CIS countries.