Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Today, the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Uzbekistan is hosting a round table on international experience in developing a wholesale competitive electricity market and Uzbekistan’s future plans in this area.

The event will be attended by representatives of interested ministries, departments and enterprises of the energy sector, including the Ministry of Finance, the Agency for Strategic Reforms, the Antimonopoly Committee and others.

During the round table, the participants discuss the current results and plans for further modernization and reform of the country’s electricity industry by the government.

As noted in the welcoming speech of the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan - Minister of Energy Jurabek Mirzamakhmudov, over the past few years, the country has made progress in the field of reforms in the energy sector, despite this, there is an understanding that there is a lot of work to be done to transition to market relations and create competitive energy market.

The event is attended by experts from the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation. Both organizations are part of the World Bank Group and provide financial and advisory assistance to the government in modernizing and reforming the country’s energy industry.

World Bank Country Manager for Uzbekistan Marco Mantovanelli and World Bank Global Energy Practice Manager for Europe and Central Asia, Ms. Sudeshna Ghosh Banerjee noted that the World Bank will continue to provide financial and advisory assistance in the development of the wholesale concrete electricity market in Uzbekistan working in cooperation with the Ministry of Energy, other interested ministries and departments, private investors and international financial institutions on the implementation of specific plans and tasks.

Currently, with the assistance of the World Bank, the government is implementing a number of projects in the energy sector for a total of about US$1.2 billion. Their goal is to modernize the infrastructure in the electricity sector, improve the energy efficiency of industrial enterprises and public buildings, increase access to more efficient heating and hot water services in cities, and develop the renewable energy sector with the participation of private investors.

During the event, the audience was presented with advanced foreign experience in the development of a specific wholesale electricity market in Turkey, Armenia, Latin America and Eastern Europe, where the World Bank Group played a key role in the development and implementation of energy sector reforms and attracting private investment in its modernization.

The meeting participants were also presented with a draft roadmap for the transition to a competitive electricity market in Uzbekistan, including the creation of the necessary institutional and legislative conditions for attracting private investment in this sector.

In the context of Uzbekistan, international experts noted the importance of accelerating and deepening the transformation of the electricity market, expanding opportunities for transmission and distribution of electricity by independent private operators, as well as the need for further financial rehabilitation and modernization of energy enterprises and their transformation into companies that can attract direct investment to ensure stable and uninterrupted supply of electricity to end consumers, including households, businesses and the private sector throughout the country.

At the end of the event, the determination of the World Bank to assist in the implementation of relevant sectoral reforms was reaffirmed. Bilateral cooperation will also focus on completing the development of the above-mentioned "road map". assistance in improving the legislative, institutional and regulatory mechanisms for the efficient functioning of the electricity sector, reducing electricity losses by updating obsolete infrastructure facilities, as well as further support in attracting private investment in the sector and developing cooperation between the states of Central Asia in the field of electricity generation and transmission.