Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev chaired a meeting focused on priority measures to improve management, strengthen accountability, and address challenges in the country’s fuel and energy sector.

According to a statement released by the president's press service, the head of state noted that extensive reforms have been implemented in the energy sector over the past decade. A legal and institutional framework has been created to attract private sector participation and foreign investment, The Caspian Post reports.

As a result of these efforts, $23 billion in foreign investment has been attracted to the sector, while power generation facilities with a combined capacity of 9.5 gigawatts have been commissioned. In addition, 30 trillion soums have been allocated to modernize electricity and gas networks, substations, transformers, and gas distribution infrastructure.

At the same time, the president pointed out that significant shortcomings remain in the effective use of these opportunities, system management, executive discipline, and local oversight.

“We must speak frankly: the problem in the energy sector is not financing. We secure all the funding that is needed. The problem lies in the management of the system itself,” Mirziyoyev said.

The meeting highlighted that even in regions with nearly identical levels of infrastructure development, the quality of electricity and gas supply varies considerably. According to the president, this is mainly caused by differences in management discipline, oversight, and the personal responsibility of officials.

During June and July this year, around 4,000 incidents occurred in electricity networks. As a result, households and businesses in some regions experienced power outages lasting up to 8-10 hours. It was also noted that in many areas, increases in electricity consumption and growing pressure on infrastructure had not been properly anticipated.

Electricity losses in the networks currently stand at 17.2 percent. Over the past six months, total electricity losses reached 4.8 billion kilowatt-hours.

Despite the introduction of automated electricity and gas metering systems, hundreds of thousands of meters are still not transmitting data to centralized platforms. This complicates accurate consumption monitoring, efforts to reduce losses, and the collection of outstanding payments.

Mirziyoyev stressed that the effectiveness of every energy sector leader must ultimately be reflected in the daily lives of citizens and the operations of businesses.

Due to serious shortcomings in their areas of responsibility, the energy minister and the head of Regional Electric Networks JSC were removed from their positions. The heads of National Electric Networks of Uzbekistan JSC, Thermal Power Plants JSC, Uztransgaz JSC, and Hududgaztaminot JSC were placed on probation until the end of the year.

It was emphasized that the new leadership of the Ministry of Energy, Regional Electric Networks, and Uzenergyinspection must adopt a fundamentally new approach to organizing their work starting immediately.

During the meeting, a new system was outlined for ensuring reliable electricity and gas supplies at the level of each district and mahalla. Energy balances will be prepared for each area, taking into account the needs of households, businesses, and social facilities.

Specific plans will identify which mahallas require modernization of electricity networks, transformers, and gas distribution equipment. Targeted programmes will also be developed to reduce accidents, connect meters to unified systems, and significantly decrease energy losses and outstanding debts.

The president instructed officials to establish a model system in Yangiyul district. In all 51 mahallas of the district, the monthly, quarterly, and annual electricity and natural gas demand of residents and businesses will be fully assessed.

Based on detailed plans, the required infrastructure improvements, repair works, and financing sources will be determined. All measures are expected to be completed by October 1, transforming Yangiyul district into an example for electricity and gas supply management.

The experience gained there will later be expanded to all districts and cities across Uzbekistan. Energy sector leaders will be assigned to the most challenging districts and will work jointly with local khokimiyats.

Special attention was also given to expanding the use of digital technologies and artificial intelligence in the energy sector.

A Center for Digitalization of the Fuel and Energy Complex and the Introduction of Artificial Intelligence Technologies will be established under the Ministry of Energy. The center will analyze the entire “generation - transmission - distribution - supply” chain and develop optimal development scenarios for the sector.

Data from automated electricity and gas metering systems will be analyzed using artificial intelligence. A platform will also be introduced to automatically detect suspicious consumption patterns, energy losses, and outstanding debts.

In addition, the performance of each manager and employee in the sector will be evaluated according to specific key performance indicators. These will include the number of emergency and scheduled outages, loss levels, accounts receivable volumes, reserve capacity availability, and implementation of repair programmes.

The meeting also addressed preparations for the autumn-winter period. Currently, 1,916 mahallas are facing difficulties with natural gas supplies.

Detailed calculations will be prepared to improve the reliability of heating systems in residential buildings, strengthen electricity infrastructure, and meet additional electricity demand in these areas. A separate programme will be developed for mahallas requiring priority financing.

At present, 3.7 million households use liquefied gas. The President noted that despite digitalization and efforts to streamline the system, the issue of ensuring timely and guaranteed liquefied gas supplies has not yet been fully resolved.

Officials were instructed to increase private sector involvement in liquefied gas supply. The new approach will first be introduced in Andijan region.

Entrepreneurs will be allowed to supply households and businesses with liquefied gas imported independently or purchased through exchange trading. Families included in the Unified Register of Social Protection will receive subsidies to purchase liquefied gas. By the end of the year, the “Andijan model” will be implemented and later expanded to other regions.

The government also set a target to increase liquefied gas production from the planned 520,000 tonnes to 606,000 tonnes by the end of the year.

It was additionally proposed to differentiate gas cylinder capacities according to the actual needs of households. The transportation, storage, and distribution system for liquefied gas will be revised in accordance with international practices and standards.

The President separately addressed the issue of preparing qualified personnel for the energy sector with modern knowledge and practical skills.

Currently, around 5,500 students study energy-related fields at 25 technical higher education institutions. However, due to limited integration between academic education and practical training, graduates often require two to three years to fully adapt to professional work.

In this regard, instructions were issued to completely update fuel and energy education programmes at universities and modernize laboratories and practical training facilities to meet current requirements.

Beginning with the new academic year, half of all third-year students and all fourth-year students will participate in the dual education system. Priority will be given to training specialists in solar and wind energy, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and other advanced technologies.

Following the meeting, responsible officials were instructed to ensure the timely and high-quality implementation of all assigned tasks, while significantly strengthening executive discipline and personal accountability throughout the energy sector.