The President of Kyrgyzstan, Sadyr Japarov, in a recent interview with the news agency "Kabar," discussed the issue of electricity shortages and emphasized that significant positive changes have occurred in this regard over the past five years.
– Good afternoon, Sadyr Nurgoyevich! Recently, the public has been concerned about the electricity deficit. At the recent opening of the Kara-Kul Hydroelectric Power Station, you noted that the problem exists, but it will be resolved within two and a half years. Some critics claim that similar promises were made five years ago. How do you comment on this?
– Good afternoon. Indeed, in 2020, I urged people to "wait a little longer." However, it is worth noting that these words were spoken during a meeting with residents of the Naryn region in November 2020, before the start of our administration. At that time, there were nationwide restrictions, including in the high-altitude Naryn region, where electricity consumption was limited to 700 kW in winter.
People were asking to lift this restriction, as 700 kW was quickly exhausted, and exceeding it required payment of 2 soms 16 tyiyns, which was extremely difficult. I responded: "The restriction can be lifted, but not now; please wait until spring."
We fulfilled 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 challenging mountainous conditions.
The old tariff, which required payment of 2 soms 16 tyiyns for exceeding 700 kW, was abolished. Since then, the tariff has only increased by 5–10 tyiyns and is currently 1 som 37 tyiyns, with no restrictions.
Additionally, for needy citizens receiving social assistance and living in difficult conditions, a preferential tariff called "Family Support" is in effect — 50 tyiyns per 1 kWh for consumption up to 700 kWh.
– When you took office, the situation in the energy sector was critical. During your inauguration, you mentioned that the sector's debt amounted to 137 billion soms. How is the situation now?
– Currently, the situation is much better than it was five years ago. You are correct; at the beginning of 2021, the debt of the energy sector was 137 billion soms, which is equivalent to about 1.5 billion dollars.
Thanks to the reforms implemented, as well as the fight against corruption and theft, we have managed to reduce the debt to 25 billion soms. We intend to completely eliminate it by the end of next year and achieve profitability. Over five years, we have achieved such results.
As for the winter deficit, I already mentioned this at the opening of the Kara-Kul Hydroelectric Power Station. In two and a half years, we will stop importing electricity and begin to fully meet our needs from our own resources, planning to eliminate outages in winter.
