The key facts

  • One-time assistance of 1 million soums — to more than 1 million 17 thousand families, payments by 30 November via the People's Bank and Aloqabank
  • The basic electricity norm in non-gasified areas will rise from 200 to 350 kWh; compensations are extended until April 2028, coal assistance until 1 January 2029
  • From 1 November 2026, heating and hot water tariffs are planned to be indexed by an average of 30%

One-time assistance for the heating season

The National Agency for Social Protection under the President of Uzbekistan has published for public discussion a draft presidential decree on additional measures of social support for the 2026/2027 heating season. According to the draft, in November 2026 needy families will be paid one-time material assistance of 1 million soums. According to the authorities' explanatory materials, the assistance is planned to be provided to more than 1 million 17 thousand families, and 1.9 trillion soums is envisaged for additional support measures in 2026. Payments must be transferred by 30 November 2026 to recipients' social or bank cards via the People's Bank and Aloqabank.

Who will receive the payment

Recipients are proposed to be families included in the Social Register; families not included in the register but meeting the need criteria based on the conclusion of the 'mahalla seven' and data from state agencies' information systems; as well as elderly people living alone and people with disabilities in need of outside care, and families with orphaned children and children left without parental care. For families outside the Social Register, the main condition is per capita income not exceeding twice the minimum consumer expenses — 1.43 million soums. For residents of apartment buildings with central heating in Karakalpakstan and the regions, the same threshold applies, while in Tashkent it is 2.145 million soums (three times the MCE). The higher threshold for Tashkent, according to the explanatory materials, is proposed taking into account differences in income and expenses on central heating. According to preliminary estimates, the assistance is planned to cover every fourth family in apartment buildings with central heating. The draft also allows the inclusion of certain needy families with incomes above the thresholds by decision of district and city headquarters for creating sustainable jobs.

Compiling the lists

Additional lists of recipients must be compiled by the 'mahalla seven' based on information from state agencies' information systems. Priority is proposed to be given to families that have lost a breadwinner, families with group I and II disabled members raising children with disabilities, as well as families with members in need of long-term treatment or outside care. Also taken into account are families whose members are in labour migration, households with three or more co-residing families, and residents of apartment buildings without gas supply and central heating. The number of families in additional lists selected by the income criterion must not exceed 50% of the number of families from the Social Register of the respective district or city. The lists must be compiled by 1 November.

Compensations for electricity, gas and coal

The draft provides for expanding the circle of recipients of compensation for electricity and natural gas: for families outside the Social Register, the per capita income threshold is raised from 1.5 to 2 times the minimum consumer expenses (up to 1.43 million soums), which, according to the authorities' calculations, will additionally cover 166 thousand families. The current mechanism of compensating the difference between tariffs within the basic consumption norm and above it is proposed to be extended from 1 April 2027 to 1 April 2028 — this, according to the explanatory materials, will preserve compensations for 470 thousand families for another year and will require an additional 150 billion soums. The income threshold for receiving coal assistance is raised from one to two times the MCE, and the period of such support is extended until 1 January 2029. In addition, for residents of non-gasified territories and districts with difficult gas supply, the basic electricity consumption norm during the heating season is increased from 200 to 350 kWh per month. The draft also proposes compensation for liquefied gas — 3,000 soums per kilogram, but no more than 20 kg per month, and the price of liquefied gas is proposed to be set at 5,000 soums per kilogram.

New tariffs for heating and hot water

According to the draft government resolution, from 1 November 2026 new tariffs for central heating and hot water are planned to be introduced: tariffs for thermal energy and hot water are proposed to be indexed by an average of 30%. In Tashkent, the heating tariff will be 314 soums per day per 1 m². For the first time, hot water tariffs will be approved by a government decision across the entire republic. A phased reduction of tariffs to cost-recovery level is envisaged by 2030. At the same time, measures are planned to reduce costs and improve service quality: within a month, a programme will be developed to reduce the cost of thermal energy by 15%, and enterprises will be covered by the 'Billing' programme by the end of 2026. The drafts are under public discussion until 28 October.