Energy Ministry urges power conservation, compares Uzbekistan's usage to developed nations

The statement follows the ministry's recent public explanation regarding the latest electricity and natural gas tariff hikes, which took effect on June 1. Speaking on the Legal View podcast, hosted by Sevara Urinbaeva, ministry officials were questioned on when the national power grid would finally reach a stable state, eliminating regular accidents and blackouts.

Elbek Saidov, a chief specialist at the Ministry of Energy, described the issue as systemic and confirmed that putting a complete stop to power outages remains a primary objective for the government. However, he stressed that infrastructural changes must be supported by public cooperation in conserving energy.

Uzbekistan is a developing nation, yet its citizens often compare domestic energy availability to that of highly developed countries, Saidov noted. He pointed out that in the United States and European nations, both individuals and institutions utilize electricity with strict economy and efficiency.

Clarifying his stance on conservation, the official explained that he meant the rational and optimized use of available resources rather than simple deprivation. As a practical example, he pointed to public street lighting, which frequently operates at full capacity during low-traffic hours when very few vehicles are on the road. In such scenarios, adjusting the system to light up every third lamp could significantly cut waste.