Kyrgyz Prime Minister Adylbek Kasymaliyev has signed a decree requiring civil servants to give up wearing jackets and work in shirtsleeves in order to save electricity. The new rules came into effect on May 14, according to the 24.kg news outlet.

According to Kasymaliyev, abandoning suits will allow government offices to use air conditioners less frequently. “Now we work in suits and turn on air conditioners. If we just walk around in shirts, we don't need to turn on the air conditioner. We must save electricity,” he said.

The Kyrgyz prime minister cited the example of Japan, where in 2005 the government launched the Cool Biz campaign to reduce electricity consumption by limiting the use of air conditioners. The standard office temperature was set at +28°C, and a simplified summer dress code was introduced for officials. Today, the campaign runs from May to October and has also spread to the private sector.

“Japan has such an experience: to save electricity, they started wearing shirts without ties, as a result the state saved billions of yen,” the head of the Kyrgyz Cabinet of Ministers noted.

According to the Kyrgyz government, electricity consumption in the country has increased by more than 25% over the past five years — from 15.4 billion kWh in 2020 to 19.3 billion kWh by the end of 2025. At the same time, the pace of commissioning new generating capacity lags behind the growth in demand.

Source: www.gazeta.uz