Drinking water tariffs in Tashkent may be revised after electricity price hikes

Uzsuvtaminot explained how tariffs are formed and whether drinking water prices may rise.

Regular tariff reviews help improve service quality for consumers, support sectoral development, and ensure modernization that delivers better services.

How water supply and wastewater tariffs are formed

Tariffs for water supply and wastewater services are based on the following components:

• production costs, including electricity, wages, reagents, and routine and capital repairs;
• expenses related to the development and modernization of system facilities;
• obligations to international financial institutions;
• taxes and other mandatory payments.

In recent years, the gap between the cost of centralized water supply and approved tariffs has widened, hampering modernization of the drinking water supply system.

Beyond core production costs, several additional factors influence tariff formation:

• over the past three years, the number of consumers has increased by 1 million, requiring additional spending to supply drinking water;
• water is delivered over long distances using pumps that consume large amounts of electricity;
• ongoing costs related to eliminating frequent breakdowns and conducting routine and capital repairs of networks.

Current structure of the drinking water tariff per cubic meter

• electricity costs – 19%;
• routine and capital repairs – 5%;
• repayment of loans from international financial institutions – 9%;
• wages – 30%;
• depreciation – 15%;
• taxes and the unified social payment – 5%;
• other costs – 17%.

“At current prices, one liter of drinking water delivered to the population through centralized networks costs an average of UZS 3.3. In stores, one liter of bottled water costs around UZS 4,000. By comparison, drinking water is 1,210 times cheaper – in other words, in Tashkent, 2,800 liters of tap water cost the same as one liter of bottled water,” the organization said.

Tariffs for water supply and wastewater services are approved separately for each region. As a result, they are reviewed at different times in proportion to changes in energy prices and are considered by the Jokorgy Kenes of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, as well as regional and Tashkent city councils of people’s deputies.

Delays in timely tariff revisions limit the company’s ability to cover current operating costs.

When energy prices rise, reviews of drinking water and wastewater tariffs tend to lag behind.

In 2023–2025, delays in revising regional tariffs following electricity price increases resulted in losses of UZS 128.1 billion, with no available source to offset these losses.

Despite electricity price increases effective May 1, 2025, tariffs for drinking water and wastewater services in Jizzakh region and the city of Tashkent have yet to be approved.