Water Debtors to Lose Electricity Payment Access From January 2027

Households that fall behind on drinking water and sewerage bills will be blocked from making electricity payments starting 1 January 2027, under a mechanism announced by the state water utility Özsuvtaʼminot at a press conference on 30 October.

Islam Abdullayev, first deputy chairman of Özsuvtaʼminot, outlined the enforcement sequence: once a debt arises, the consumer receives a warning and five days to settle. If the debt remains after that window, service restrictions take effect under existing rules and active debt-recovery measures begin.

Notarial or Court Recovery Before the Electricity Block

The electricity payment restriction is the final step in a graduated process. After the warning period expires without payment, the utility pursues recovery either through a notary or through the courts, depending on the size of the debt. Debts up to one thousand times the base calculation unit — the standard reference figure used in Uzbek law — are handled notarially; amounts above that threshold go to court. Once enforcement documents are formalised, they are forwarded to the compulsory enforcement bureau. Only if the debtor still fails to meet the obligation at that stage does the block on electricity payments activate automatically.

The measure is grounded in Presidential Decree No. 140, adopted on 24 July 2026. Paragraph 13(b) of that decree states explicitly that, from 1 January 2027, automatic restriction of a debtor’s ability to make electricity payments will apply where enforcement-document demands for drinking water and sewerage debts are not voluntarily met within the set deadline. The stated purpose is to prevent the growth of receivables in the water and sewerage sector.

Social-Registry Families Exempt

The restriction does not apply to families registered in the social registry — the government database of vulnerable and low-income households. Abdullayev confirmed this exemption at the press conference, and it is written into the presidential decree itself, ensuring that the most economically exposed consumers are shielded from the payment block.

The cross-utility enforcement model — using access to electricity payments as leverage for water debts — represents a structural shift in how Uzbekistan’s utility sector manages non-payment. By linking two separate service systems, authorities aim to reduce the chronic accumulation of water-sector arrears without resorting immediately to supply cut-offs.