The President of Kyrgyzstan, Sadyr Japarov, discussed the issues of electricity shortages in the country in an interview with the news agency "Kabar" and stated that the situation has significantly improved over the past five years.
– Hello, Sadyr Nurgozhoevich! The discussion about electricity shortages raises serious concerns in society. At the recent opening of the Kara-Kul Hydroelectric Power Station, you mentioned that the problem exists but will be resolved in two and a half years. Some critics argue that similar promises have been heard before. How can you comment on this?
– Hello. Yes, in 2020 I did talk about the need to be a little patient. These words were spoken during a meeting with residents of the Naryn region in November 2020, before we came to power. At that time, there was a widespread electricity restriction, including in the high-altitude Naryn region, where winter lasts long and the consumption limit was 700 kW.
People were asking for the cancellation of this restriction, as 700 kW is quickly consumed, and exceeding it was charged at 2 soms 16 tyiyns, which created serious difficulties. I replied that this restriction could be lifted, but only in the spring.
We kept this promise. Since spring 2021, a tariff of 1 som per 1 kWh without any restrictions has been introduced for 190,000 subscribers living in difficult mountainous conditions.
In other words, the previous norm, which charged 2 soms 16 tyiyns for exceeding 700 kW, has been abolished. Since then, the tariff has gradually increased by 5–10 tyiyns and currently stands at 1 som 37 tyiyns. We have not introduced any new restrictions.
Additionally, for citizens in difficult conditions receiving social assistance, a preferential tariff "Family Support" has been established, which is 50 tyiyns per 1 kWh for consumption up to 700 kWh.
– When you came to power, the situation in the energy sector was extremely difficult. At your inauguration, you mentioned that the debt in the industry reached 137 billion soms. What is the situation now?
– Currently, the situation has significantly improved compared to five years ago. Indeed, at the beginning of 2021, the debt of the energy sector was 137 billion soms, which is approximately equivalent to 1.5 billion dollars.
Thanks to the reforms carried out, as well as the fight against corruption and embezzlement, we have managed to reduce the debt to 25 billion soms. We plan to completely eliminate it by the end of next year and achieve profitability. Over the past five years, we have achieved significant results.
As for the electricity deficit in winter, I mentioned this at the opening of the Kara-Kul Hydroelectric Power Station. In two and a half years, we will stop importing electricity from other countries and will begin to fully meet our needs from internal resources, assuming that there will be no more outages in winter.
