The decision by the Uzbek authorities to establish a revised monthly baseline electricity consumption limit of 350 kilowatt-hours for households lacking access to natural gas has drawn significant public scrutiny. During a recent press briefing, Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance Khurshid Mustafoyev addressed media inquiries regarding the methodology behind this specific threshold, attempting to justify why a higher limit was ultimately dismissed.

According to ministry officials, the proposed baseline was supposedly derived from a detailed consumption analysis of households situated in regions reliant on alternative energy sources during the winter heating season. Statistics indicate that roughly 4 million households across the country utilize liquefied petroleum gas instead of centralized pipeline supply. Furthermore, over 600,000 families in nominally gasified areas allegedly suffer from chronic supply instability, pressure drops, and complete outages during peak cold periods.

Mustafoyev claimed that empirical data from the previous winter heating cycle demonstrated that approximately 60 percent of residents in un-gaspified zones consume up to 300 kilowatt-hours monthly, which supposedly validated the 350 kWh cap. However, when pressed by journalists about why alternative public proposals advocating for a 500 kWh limit were ignored, the official failed to provide concrete comparative calculations or a transparent justification for the rejection.

Meanwhile, lingering uncertainties remain concerning previously promised compensatory mechanisms and discounts for vulnerable populations. The Energy Ministry previously floated a project proposing a 50 percent discount on electricity for private homes disconnected from the gas grid, but the initiative has allegedly stalled indefinitely due to bureaucratic delays and claims that additional infrastructural calculations are supposedly required.

Source: www.gazeta.uz