Measures to improve energy supply have been identified

On May 11, a video conference was held under the chairmanship of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to discuss issues of energy supply and the introduction of renewable energy sources in the regions.

In our country, the issues of expanding the energy potential and rational use of energy have been elevated to the rank of state policy. Over the past six years, new generating capacities of more than 5,000 megawatts have been created. In January-April of this year, an additional 726 million kilowatt-hours of electricity were generated.

At the same time, it is expected that this year the shortage of electricity will amount to 3 billion 400 million kilowatt-hours, and the daily demand in the hot days of the upcoming summer may increase from the current 195 million to 255 million kilowatt-hours.

The meeting discussed measures to cover this demand and ensure the uninterrupted operation of electric networks.

The responsible persons reported on the measures taken to launch solar and wind power plants with a capacity of 2 thousand megawatts this year, as well as the installation of solar panels with a capacity of 1.2 thousand megawatts at enterprises, on the roofs of houses and social facilities.

The Head of State, based on specific figures, pointed out the shortcomings in this work. The khokims of certain districts and cities who superficially relate to this issue have been reprimanded.

The President said that in order to stimulate the use of alternative energy sources, he signed a decree on the introduction of a Green Energy certificate system. So, from July 1, hydroelectric power plants will be issued a "green" certificate. The system will be applied from October 1 to all electricity generated from renewable energy sources.

At the expense of the Entrepreneurship Support Fund, all trade and service enterprises will be compensated for 4 percent of loans allocated for the installation of solar panels. $100 million will be raised from international financial organizations to further allocate preferential loans to the population and entrepreneurs.

The responsible persons were instructed to implement this system, encourage the population and entrepreneurs, government departments and social institutions to install small solar panels.

At the meeting, special attention was paid to the repair of electrical networks.

The program of repair works is carried out in the city of Tashkent. To date, 667 kilometers of power grids and 175 transformers have been updated.

The khokim of the regions was instructed to create a stock of electrical equipment and materials, and by August 1 to complete the repair work planned for the current year. For this purpose, additional teams will be created and qualified specialists will be recruited.

In order to prevent power outages, the task has been set to provide thermal power plants with an additional volume of gas in the amount of 6 million cubic meters by June 1. This summer, the first stage with a capacity of 500 megawatts of the power plant under construction by ACWA Power in the Syrdarya region will also be put into operation.

On February 13 of this year, the decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On measures to improve the effectiveness of state control in the use of fuel and energy resources" was adopted. In this regard, the post of Deputy Prosecutor General responsible for compliance with the law has been introduced, and a comprehensive system of supervision has been created. To date, the illegal use of energy resources in the amount of 250 billion soums has been revealed, the damage caused has been recovered.

The Head of State stressed the need to continue this work and prevent cases of illegal consumption of energy resources.

The issues of energy saving and increasing coal production were also discussed.

The issue of stable supplies of gasoline and diesel fuel is of no small importance. Restrictions on the import of these products into our country have been lifted. On-site facilities are available for storing 1 million tons of fuel. It is indicated that each region, using this opportunity, should form a reserve of gasoline and diesel fuel.

Electric cars have been gaining popularity recently. Since the beginning of this year, about 5 thousand such vehicles have been imported into the country. The meeting stressed the need to expand the conditions for electric transport using the benefits created and increase the number of chargers in the field.