With the introduction of these restrictions, an entire sector of services ceases to function – we are talking about restaurants, cafes, and other public places, whose operations are banned after 10 PM.
How it all started
Since mid-October, residents of Kyrgyzstan have noticed a decrease in limits on their smart meters. For household consumers, the limit was reduced from 5 to 3 kW, and for three-phase subscribers – from 10 to 5 kW. These changes coincided with periodic power outages and urgent calls from the authorities for conservation.Not stopping there, all commercial establishments were prohibited from turning on outdoor lighting and were instructed to minimize its use.
In early November, the government decided to implement additional conservation measures: from 6 PM, the use of lighting in government buildings is prohibited, but this rule does not apply to the president's residence.
Schools were also subjected to restrictions, as they were switched to energy-saving mode. The Minister of Education reported that after classes, no later than an hour later, electricity must be turned off for cleaning the classrooms. Parents, in turn, reported that evening clubs in schools have ceased to be held.
The situation began to develop rapidly on November 13, when Kamchybek Tashiev stated that the law on silence in the country is not working. In this regard, he banned the operation of cafes and restaurants after 10 PM, giving an oral instruction to local authorities for immediate enforcement.
That same evening, the Bishkek city hall announced that all electrical appliances in cafes, restaurants, and nightclubs, including stoves and heaters, must be turned off after 10 PM.
Officials assure that in 2015, the water level in the Toktogul reservoir was 6.4 billion cubic meters, and it is planned to reach 6.9 billion by 2026. According to them, there is no crisis.
Meanwhile, the Bishkek city hall confirmed that problems with traffic lights are caused by power outages.
“Traffic lights in Bishkek are brought into working condition by the employees of the enterprise. However, power outages from the RES lead to recurring failures,” representatives of the municipal enterprise “City Road Transport Infrastructure” stated.
A similar situation
The current events persistently remind us of the winter of 2021, when Doskul Bekmurzaev was the Minister of Energy, who also claimed that everything was under control and there would be no rolling blackouts. However, winter made its own adjustments.In November 2021, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan suspended electricity supplies to Kyrgyzstan, leading to the introduction of conservation measures that puzzled the population and businesses. At that time, the National Energy Holding ordered the lighting to be turned off in the evening and morning hours for non-residential subscribers.
The head of the holding, Talaybek Baigaziev, then stated that non-residential subscribers consume resources irrationally.
That year, restrictions on electricity capacity for subscribers were introduced for the first time, but not as strict as now – the limit was 5 kW. Raids were conducted across the country to disconnect heaters and seal electric boilers.
The situation with the disconnection of street lighting in the winter of 2021-2022 did not go further, and it was restored a couple of months later when the situation normalized. It seems that the lessons were not learned, and history is repeating itself.
Similar restrictions are being introduced in Osh, where an economy mode is also starting.
“Starting today, raids will be conducted in the city on cafes, restaurants, and nightclubs. Business owners must comply with the Law on Silence and save electricity,” the city hall warns.
People are expressing their concerns regarding such innovations on social media.
