TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, September 22. Uzbekistan revealed that the volume of compensation for the consumption of electricity and natural gas by the population amounts to $1.15 billion a year, Trend reports.
Uzbekistan’s government has to compensate for the difference between the electricity costs and the amount payed by the population, as the cost of 1 kWh of electricity in the country is fixed at 970 soums (8 cents), while the population only pays 295 soums (2 cents) per kWh.
The same principal applies to the situation with natural gas as the cost of 1 cubic meter of natural gas in the state is 1890 soums (16 cents), and the consumer pays 390 soums (3 cents).
As per data provided by Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Energy, subsidizing the industry from the state budget leads to a deficit due to the unprofitability of the industry, which does not allow the state to direct more funds to the development of the social sector. As a result, the funds that could be used to upgrade the system are used only to cover the gap in electricity use.
To save budget funds, experts propose to introduce market mechanisms into the industry, and use the saved funds for the development of the social sphere, the construction of new schools and medical institutions, modernization of the energy system and the introduction of modern technologies.
Earlier it was revealed that Uzbekistan produced 52.2 billion kWh of electricity from January through August 2023. In 2022, the total volume of electricity produced in the country amounted to 74.3 billion, which is 3 billion kWh, or 4.2 percent more than in the same period of 2021.