According to him, during the winter period, as in previous years, the country will import electricity from neighboring states at a price of 3 soms, while the population will be provided with it at a tariff of 1 som 37 tyiyns. The difference in cost will once again result in debt for the JSC "National Electric Network of Kyrgyzstan" (JSC "NESC").
In this regard, the president instructed to reduce import volumes, use energy efficiently, and pay off the debt of 25 billion soms next year.“Next year we plan to fully settle our debts and start making a profit,” Ibraev added.
He also noted that by the winter season of 2028-2029, Kyrgyzstan should abandon electricity imports.
It is worth mentioning that earlier, in September, the Minister of Energy predicted that this winter would be the most challenging for the country.
“Last year, the water level dropped to 12.4 billion cubic meters, and we managed to avoid serious outages, but this season the level of the [Toktogul] reservoir is 1.6 billion lower, which means a reduction in generation by 1.6 billion kWh. These are natural conditions that cannot be changed,” the minister noted, adding that Kyrgyzstan could emerge from the energy crisis in 2028.
From that moment on, measures to save electricity began to be actively implemented in the country. By mid-November 2025, the authorities:
- prohibited the use of street lighting in government and administrative buildings in the evening;
- restricted electricity use in schools after 6:00 PM, resulting in some parents complaining about the closure of evening clubs;
- introduced a new power limit for the population — up to 3 kW, forcing residents to choose what to turn on: a washing machine or an electric kettle;
- suspended the operation of mining farms until the end of March 2026.
