Uzbekistan energy tariffs rise amid inflation and demand

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The Ministry of Energy of Uzbekistan has publicly explained a new — the third in recent years — increase in tariffs for electricity and natural gas.

Officials made the comments during an appearance on the UzReport TV YouTube channel, citing inflation, rising production costs, and the need to modernize energy infrastructure.

Inflation as basis for indexation

According to senior specialist at the Ministry of Energy Nasibullo Mukhammadjonov, tariffs are not being raised repeatedly but are being indexed in line with a government resolution at the level of inflation. According to the National Statistics Committee, annual inflation stood at 7.1% as of 1 May, marking a multi-year low. The average increase in electricity and gas tariffs will be around 10%.

The official also rejected the widespread view that tariffs in Uzbekistan are already high. He said the average electricity price in the country is 4–5 cents per kWh, placing Uzbekistan among the top 20 countries with the lowest electricity prices globally.

Cost below tariff: difference covered by budget

Mukhammadjonov explained that tariff decisions are based on the cost of electricity production — including generation at thermal power plants, raw natural resources, processing, electricity transmission, as well as maintenance of transformer stations, substations, and power lines.

“The price set for the population within the basic consumption norm is significantly lower than the cost of electricity production, and the difference is covered by the budget,” he said.

According to him, failure to increase tariffs would inevitably increase pressure on the state budget and reduce funding for social sectors, healthcare, and education.

Infrastructure under growing demand pressure

Another ministry representative, senior specialist Elbek Saidov, provided data on rising electricity consumption. In 2017, the number of electricity consumers was 6.6 million with consumption of 54 billion kWh. By 2025, this had increased to 8.6 million consumers, with consumption exceeding 71 billion kWh. The growth has been driven by industrial expansion, wider use of air conditioning and electric heating, and rising living standards.

Between 2017 and 2025, additional capacity of more than 12,500 MVA was created at substations, more than 2,000 main networks were built, around 80,000 km of distribution networks were modernized, and more than 21,000 transformer points were upgraded. However, Saidov said this remains insufficient without further expansion of the grid infrastructure.

He also stressed that tariff increases are intended in part to encourage rational electricity consumption, as higher prices incentivize more efficient use of resources.

New tariffs from 1 June

For large industrial and budget organizations (Group I), as well as legal entities (Groups II and IV), the electricity tariff is set at 1,100 soums per kWh.

For household consumers (Group III), a differentiated scale remains in place with a new tier introduced up to 500 kWh.

For most households, tariffs are set as follows: up to 200 kWh — 650 soums, 201–500 kWh — 900 soums, 501–1,000 kWh — 1,100 soums.

For consumption above 10,000 kWh, the tariff reaches 2,200 soums.

Households using centralized electric stoves pay a preferential rate: up to 200 kWh — 325 soums, 201–500 kWh — 450 soums, 501–1,000 kWh — 550 soums.

For industrial gas consumers (NGMK, AGMK, “Uzmetkombinat” and others), budget organizations, and wholesale buyers, the tariff is set at 2,000 soums per cubic meter.

For households, the base tariff — up to 500 cubic meters during the heating season and up to 100 cubic meters in other periods — is set at 1,100 soums per cubic meter.

Consumption above the norm is charged on a progressive scale ranging from 2,000 to 3,300 soums per cubic meter depending on volume.

According to estimates, a household consuming 500 kWh per month will pay 40,000 soums more than before — 400,000 soums compared to 360,000 soums.