President Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced on July 27 the creation of a special headquarters to stabilize electricity and gas supply in the Yangiyo'l district. The headquarters will be led by Energy Minister Sherzod Khodjayev, with district governor Sanat Jumaniyozov as his deputy.
The district has 1,400 km of power lines and 422 transformers. Over the past five years, electricity consumption has surged from 68 million kWh to 102 million kWh, a 1.5-fold increase. Yet only 60 transformers and 240 km of lines have been upgraded in that period. Since the start of the year, electricity losses have reached 30 million kWh, and 37 accidents have occurred.
Poor payment discipline has driven accounts receivable to 43 billion soums, of which 9.4 billion soums are considered bad debts. In the district, 829 consumer meters are incompatible with the ASKUE system, and another 2,000 meters fail to transmit data. Forty-eight enterprises that filed zero tax reports consumed 871,000 kWh of electricity in six months.
A similar situation exists in gas supply: over 5,000 gas meters do not transmit data, resulting in debts of 188 billion soums. Within two weeks, the headquarters will study the monthly, quarterly, and annual needs of residents and businesses in the district's 51 mahallas and formulate an 'energy consumption balance'.
Plans include identifying where transformers or gas distribution equipment need replacement and where new networks must be laid. Meters incompatible with ASKUE and ASKUG systems will be replaced, and uninterrupted communication for non-transmitting devices will be ensured. A separate program will be developed to halve electricity and gas losses.
Large consumer enterprises will undergo energy audits, and banks will allocate resources for their transition to energy-efficient technologies. Energy consumption of all kindergartens, schools, technical colleges, hospitals, and clinics will be analyzed and categorized. Heating systems in apartment buildings will be diagnosed, and street-by-street work will be carried out to eliminate debts.
All work is to be completed by October 1, after which Yangiyo'l will become a model district for electricity and gas supply. The president stated that this system will be applied to all districts and cities across the republic. Energy system leaders will be assigned to the most problematic district in each region.
Earlier at the meeting, Mirziyoyev noted that over the past years, $23 billion in foreign investment has been attracted to Uzbekistan's energy sector, and 30 trillion soums have been allocated for network and equipment upgrades. Nevertheless, nearly 4,000 accidents occurred in June and July alone. The president cited management quality as the sector's main problem.
Prior to the meeting, Energy Minister Jorabek Mirzamakhmudov was dismissed, and Asrorjon Askarov, head of 'Hududiy elektr tarmoqlari', was also removed. The heads of Uzbekistan's four largest energy companies received a probationary period from the president until the end of the year.
Source: www.gazeta.uz