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Households in parts of Uzbekistan that lack access to natural gas will receive a larger subsidised electricity allowance this winter, under two government decrees on transitioning the fuel and energy sector to market principles while maintaining social protections.
From 1 November, the monthly baseline electricity allocation for residents in areas where natural gas is unavailable or difficult to supply rises from 200 kilowatt-hours to 350 kilowatt-hours during the heating season — a 75 percent increase in the volume covered at the preferential rate.
A separate measure takes effect on 15 November, setting the retail price of liquefied petroleum gas for the public at 5,000 soums per kilogram, inclusive of value-added tax. Where that price falls below actual supply costs, the difference will be covered by a state budget subsidy, according to the decrees.
Cash transfers for vulnerable families
Families classified as low-income will receive an additional compensation of 3,000 soums for every kilogram of liquefied gas they purchase, up to a ceiling of 20 kilograms per month. That translates to a maximum monthly payment of 60,000 soums per household. The funds are to be transferred directly to recipients’ social cards.
The compensation scheme is set to run until 2030, giving eligible families a multi-year guarantee of support as the government pursues a gradual shift toward market-based energy pricing.
The decrees are framed as part of a broader policy of introducing market mechanisms in the fuel and energy sector in stages, while cushioning the impact on consumers who depend on electricity for heating because they have no connection to the gas network. Non-gasified communities are concentrated in rural and mountainous districts where pipeline infrastructure has not been extended.
The measures follow a separate winter-support decree signed by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev providing one-million-soum payments to needy families, and come as the government has also proposed more than doubling the drinking-water tariff and signalled further utility price adjustments tied to its market-transition agenda.