The key facts
- In August 2026, 35% of Uzbekistan's 8.344 million consumers used more than 200 kWh of electricity
- 843 billion soums have been allocated for preparations for the autumn-winter season; repairs at 'red' category facilities were completed by August, 'yellow' — by 1 October
- A digital notification system for scheduled outages via Telegram is planned; 'Uzinfokom' requested 2–3 months for implementation
Consumption and subscriber structure
On 8 October, at a press conference with the participation of the leadership of 'Hududiy elektr tarmoqlari' (HET), it was reported that in August 2026, 35% of electricity consumers in Uzbekistan used more than 200 kWh of electricity. According to the company's former first deputy chairman of the board, Bobir Islomov, there are 8 million 344 thousand consumers in the country in total (one household is counted as one consumer). In August, 5 million 682 thousand used up to 200 kWh, 1 million 135 thousand — from 200 to 300 kWh, and 354 thousand — more than 300 kWh.
Preparing the networks for the season
HET head Sardor Isaqulov said that facilities with a high risk of accidents are identified at the beginning of the year and divided by risk level into red, yellow and green categories. Repairs at red-category facilities were completed by August, yellow — by 1 October. 'The power system must be ready for any season. We also start preparing for the summer season starting from winter,' he noted. According to him, current daily consumption reaches 200 million kWh, whereas on some summer days it was about 150 million kWh. A total of 843 billion soums has been allocated across the republic for preparations for the autumn-winter season — for organizing the work of crews, their activities through local headquarters, and the provision of spare parts. During repairs, insulators are replaced and wires are straightened; for the safety of workers, some networks are temporarily switched off. On average, 15–20 transformer points are connected to one network, so during repairs electricity is temporarily lost for consumers connected through them. Isaqulov emphasized that such outages are not related to accidents but to network upgrades. In the current autumn-winter season, short-term outages due to scheduled repairs are also possible in the Almazar, Chilanzar and Mirzo-Ulugbek districts of Tashkent.
Notifications via Telegram
To reduce outages and improve service, a digitalization system is being developed. It will be used to monitor repair work, staff activities and the delivery of materials, and consumers will be able to learn about scheduled outages in advance. 'If you are connected to a specific transformer, your phone number is linked to your personal account. If there is planned maintenance at a transformer point, you will receive a message on Telegram one or two days in advance: a warning that an outage is possible the next day from 08:00 to 17:00, and an apology for the inconvenience,' Isaqulov described. Work is underway with 'Uzinfokom': a preliminary presentation has been held, the next one is scheduled for the coming week; exact timelines will be announced after it. According to the HET head, the contractor requested approximately two to three months for data entry and digitalization. The system will also cover monitoring of staff activities and handling of inquiries.
Why outages are more noticeable in winter and what causes accidents
Answering a question about why outages seem more frequent in winter, Isaqulov explained that outages also occur in summer, but in winter, due to the cold and short days, they cause more inconvenience. 'We cannot promise that the lights will not go out. They do go out. This is a process related to technical equipment. No one can guarantee that a tire on a car driving on a smooth road will not burst, right? Emergency outages are also possible in electricity supply. But there are also scheduled ones. If we do not switch off some networks for modernization, we will face even bigger problems in winter,' he said. The number and duration of outages are assessed according to international indicators, and the data is openly published on the official HET platform. The company head called for distinguishing between scheduled and emergency outages: the former are carried out for repairs and modernization, the latter arise from technical malfunctions and external factors — strong winds, vehicles hitting poles, unauthorized excavation work damaging cables, damage during concreting and tree planting, as well as during the transportation of oversized cargo, when wires are shifted and damaged (including when transporting combines). According to him, the networks cover a large territory, and it is difficult to control all external factors, so the population and organizations engaged in construction should take care of the networks. In the event of an accident, specialists immediately begin to fix it: in some cases, power supply is restored within 15–20 minutes, in others it takes more time.
