The unprecedented energy crisis that erupted at the beginning of this winter, and the subsequent arrests as well as dismissals of officials in charge of the industry, demonstrates the systemic crisis in Uzbekistan’s energy sector.
The severe frosts of early December proved to be a challenge to Uzbekistan’s energy system. Massive gas and power outages during severely cold weather were experienced not only in the remote regions of the country, where people are used to such difficulties but also in the capital, the city of Tashkent.
In early December 2022, videos appeared in the Uzbek segment of social networks showing that no electricity, gas or other types of heating was available in citizens’ homes, hospitals and maternity hospitals, schools, and kindergartens on frosty days. People complained that it was dark, cold and impossible to cook food in their homes.
On December 4, the capital’s khokimiyat (mayor’s office), in its official report, confirmed that gas and heat supply was disrupted in some areas of Tashkent due to a sharp drop in air temperature. Despite the fact that communal workers are trying to distribute available gas reserves evenly among all consumers, they are running out of resources.
On December 5, Veolia Energy Tashkent, which controls the heat supply in the capital, also acknowledged that some districts of Tashkent have experienced disruptions in the supply of natural gas. This situation also affected the quality of heating.
Meanwhile, due to the lack of heat, light and gas, regional protests began among the population. The media reported that citizens angered by the lack of heat and light in their homes gathered in front of local government buildings and blocked roads.
Most complaints about low pressure or lack of natural gas came from the capital Tashkent, Andijan, Namangan, Ferghana, Samarkand, and Surkhandarya regions.
Begzod Karimov, 30, a resident of Termez District, Surkhandarya Province, told CABAR.asia in an interview that he and his wife with three young children are forced to live in a cold house without electricity and gas.
“Since the winter came, we have been having a very hard time. I have an older child who is 6 years old, a second child who is 4 years old, and a younger child who is just 8 months old. My kids caught a cold. We heat the house with electric stoves when we get electricity, and then we all sit in one room, dressed in thick clothes. Now there is no electricity or gas in the house, we are tortured. The electricity cuts off 30 times a day. Some electrical appliances have burned down because of this,” he said.
In addition, when gas stations were banned from selling gas, he could not earn money because he works as a taxi driver using his own car.
“Now I can’t even work with my car because of the lack of gas. The car is also parked at home. Yesterday was my child’s birthday. We had to spend the birthday in the dark, without electricity. We didn’t even get my 8-month-old baby out of the cradle. When we got him out, he caught a cold. We didn’t know how to live, where to go. We don’t have a wood-burning stove. We cook food using a gas cylinder. But they also do not arrive on time. What to do?” he says.
Farhad Madaev, 33, a second-group disabled teacher of English at a school in Termez district, said he had to spend the winter in a cold room. The only salvation is a homemade stove heated with wood, but there is not enough wood either. They are often left without any connection as they cannot charge cell phones.
“It’s very hard for us in the winter. Without gas and electricity, we are forced to spend winter days indoors in the cold, wrapped in three or four layers of blankets and wearing three or four layers of clothing. We have contacted neighbors on these issues with the authorities, but they say this is a national problem. I am a disabled person of the second group myself, it’s very hard for me during these cold days,” he said.
Amid the energy collapse, the local media reported deaths from carbon monoxide and fires caused by the use of homemade coal-fired stoves.
Officials cited a sharp increase in gas and electricity consumption due to the sudden onset of cold weather, a shortage of natural gas and deterioration of equipment as the main reasons for such a crisis.
To remedy the situation, the authorities began to take urgent measures. Special operational commissions, headquarters, and teams were created on duty.
In order to provide gas and heat to as many homes as possible, all gas filling stations for vehicles, except those serving public transport, were temporarily closed. The government announced that Uzbekistan is suspending gas exports abroad.
Amidst all the events taking place in the country, several industry leaders were arrested. In particular, Muzaffar Aliev, director of the Tashkent regional branch of “Hududgaztamminot”, Umid Tuychiev, head of “Yangiyul Tumangaz”, and Furkat Shodmonkulov, former head of the Gulistan district electricity network enterprise. All of them are charged with “alleged violations of the law and irresponsibility.
The other executives were strictly warned that they would also be punished for such violations.
An energy crisis of this magnitude seems to have come as a complete surprise to Uzbekistan, a country that is considered to be rich in energy resources.
Uzbek media reported that the confirmed reserves of natural gas in Uzbekistan as of January 1, 2021, were estimated at 1 trillion 866.9 billion cubic meters. This was reported by the news agency Gazeta.uz with reference to the data presented at a government meeting in August 2021.
According to open sources on the Internet, as of 2020, Uzbekistan was one of the world’s major exporters of natural gas, ranking 14th in the world in natural gas production and third in natural gas exports.
Meanwhile, observers and experts have been warning for years that the energy system is in deep crisis and requires reform.
Uzbek economic reviewer, Abdulla Abdukadirov, told at one of CABAR.asia’s expert meetings in 2021 that 85 percent of the country’s electricity is produced by cogeneration plants running on gas, whose production is declining from year to year.
“The critical situation has arisen due to the fact that out of a total volume of 65 billion kWh, about 56 billion kWh is produced by burning gas. So, the volume of extracted gas in Uzbekistan every year catastrophically decreases,” he said.
In Abdukadirov’s view, this is due to “inefficient exploitation of existing fields, failure to allocate sufficient investments for the restoration and maintenance of existing fields, as well as improper investment and engineering policies that we see in this industry.”
According to another economist, who did not wish to be publicly exposed, it is necessary to systematically reform the industries related to production and distribution in the gas and energy sectors.
In an interview with CABAR.asia, this expert said that such a large industry as the energy sector, “where a lot of money is circulating, will always be a temptation for corruption of various stripes.”
“If the capital, only this winter faced such a crisis, in the regions the crisis lasts for years. We know of cases where some khokims of cities have cut off gas and electricity to entire mahallas, citing exhaustion of limits or having a dispute with them. And plugged others. Apparently, the ones with the limit were probably paid off? Overall, these industries, both gas production and distribution, should have been put in order a long time ago,” he said.
The Uzbek government is seeking additional resources to rectify the situation. For example, in mid-December, the government signed an agreement to supply 1.5 billion cu. m. of Turkmen gas for three months, assuming a daily supply of 20m cu. m. of gas per day will cover gas shortages during the winter season.
With the arrival of warm weather, since December 15, the situation with gas and electricity supply in the capital and other cities has somewhat stabilized. However, residents in regions far from the center still complain about long-term cutoffs and limits.
Severe cold weather is expected in the country again from January 10.