On July 20, Uzbekistan's daily electricity consumption reached a record high for the summer season — 301.9 million kWh, according to the Ministry of Energy.
This figure is 10.75% higher than last summer's maximum and 2.55% above the previous record set just two days earlier. The peak load in the unified energy system hit 14.2 GW at 5:22 PM.
The same day also saw a new record for electricity generation — 305.4 million kWh, surpassing the previous maximum of July 18 by 8.3 million kWh (2.79%).
The Ministry of Energy stated that the power system continued to operate stably despite abnormal heat and high demand. Emergency repair teams were placed on enhanced duty to quickly address network faults.
However, on July 20-21, several districts of Tashkent experienced temporary power outages. According to the ministry, in the Sebzor area of Almazar district, 310 consumers were without electricity for 5 hours and 10 minutes — from 1:47 PM to 6:57 PM.
At 4:11 PM, a fault occurred in the network supplying consumers in Yakkasaray and Chilanzar districts, leaving 1,500 consumers temporarily without power. Supply was restored at 4:55 PM, with the outage lasting 44 minutes.
In Yashnabad district, the fault affected the Uysozlar and Fergana Road areas. 350 consumers had no electricity for 5 hours and 11 minutes — from 4:49 PM to 10:00 PM.
In the 1st quarter of Chilanzar district, another 300 consumers were without power for 4 hours and 58 minutes. The fault occurred at 5:05 PM, and supply was restored at 10:03 PM.
On the night of July 21, an accident occurred in the network supplying the Khanabad and Sultanabad streets of Sergeli district, leaving 280 consumers temporarily without electricity. The Ministry of Energy confirmed restoration but did not specify the exact time, so the outage duration remains unknown.
On the morning of July 21, 320 consumers on Sebzor and Taxtapul streets in Almazar district lost power. The accident occurred at 5:20 AM and was resolved by 7:10 AM — a 1-hour 50-minute outage.
The ministry emphasized that emergency services continue to operate in enhanced mode amid high loads.
Blogger Shukhrat Kurbanov, author of Kurbanoff.net, previously published graphs based on data from his SvetaNet.uz service, which maps electricity outage reports in Tashkent and parts of the Tashkent region.
The data indicates a likely correlation between high temperatures and an increase in outage reports. The most noticeable rise begins after daytime temperatures exceed approximately 38°C, with hourly peak complaints occurring with a delay of about two hours.
Hourly data shows that the peak of complaints occurs one to three hours after the temperature maximum: with a two-hour shift, the correlation increases from 0.75 to 0.85. This can be explained by cumulative heating of networks and transformers, as well as increased evening load due to air conditioners.
The Ministry of Energy previously attributed the faults to hot weather, overheating of equipment, and a sharp increase in network load due to massive use of air conditioners and other household appliances. In some cases, dispatchers introduced short-term restrictions to prevent major accidents.
The ministry urged consumers to use electricity rationally and to unplug appliances when not needed, noting that this would help reduce network load and the risk of outages.
The newspaper reported that power outages are causing additional costs for businesses. One chain store said that during outages, they are forced to transport dairy products and other temperature-sensitive goods to another outlet.
Another grocery store reported that electricity is cut off daily for about two hours. Outlets without generators rent them or temporarily connect to preserve products, incurring significant costs for fuel and possibly equipment rental.
Source: www.gazeta.uz