Republic of Uzbekistan: Effective reforms towards energy saving

In accordance with the tasks set by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Ministry of Energy is implementing measures necessary to develop the regulatory framework aimed at saving energy resources and increasing energy efficiency in sectors of the economy.

In particular, the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan No.ZRU-628 "On Amendments and Additions to the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On the Rational Use of Energy" dated July 14, 2020, was developed based on the decrees of the head of state adopted in order to improve energy efficiency, introduce energy-saving technologies and develop renewable energy sources.

At the same time, this Law, adopted by the deputies of the parliament of the Republic of Uzbekistan, was developed in order to eliminate the shortcomings identified in the course of the control and analytical work carried out at the local level.

In particular, this study showed the absence of effective monitoring of energy consumption efficiency and a practical mechanism for the introduction of modern energy-saving technologies, as well as a low level of use of information and communication technologies for this purpose.

In this regard, the Law introduces the following changes and additions:

- Article 8 provides for an additional norm on certification of goods (works, services) for the implementation of energy efficient and energy saving technologies;

- in order to effectively implement the state policy on energy use, amendments have been made to the norms of Articles 10 and 11 in order to provide a clear definition of such concepts as “energy efficiency”, “energy saving” and “energy consumption”;

- The law is supplemented by Article 11-1, by which the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Uzbekistan is designated as a specially authorized state body in the field of rational use of energy, with a separate indication of the tasks assigned to it for these purposes;

- The Law was supplemented with Article 11-2 in order to establish a systematic implementation of state audits in the field of energy use, to determine the powers of regulatory bodies;

- Article 11-3 was additionally adopted, defining the powers of local government bodies in the field of rational use of energy;

- in connection with the clarification of the concepts of "energy saving", "energy efficiency" in the current Articles Nos. 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19 20, some technical changes were made, and the word "Government" was replaced with words "Cabinet of Ministers".

When developing the draft of the above-mentioned Law, the experience of such states as the USA, Great Britain, Japan, France, Germany, Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan in the field of energy saving and efficient use of energy, of energy resources consumption rationing was studied.

To date, a number of measures have been implemented to bring information about the changes made to citizens and business entities of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

In order to organize work to clarify the content and meaning of the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. LRU-628 "On the rational use of energy" dated July 14, 2020, the text of the Law is posted on the official website of the Ministry of Energy (http://minenergy.uz/uz/lists / view / 14).

On the official website of the Ministry of Energy (http://minenergy.uz/uz/news/view/696) on July 15, 2020, a set of explanatory materials (abstract, slide and infographics) prepared on this issue by the Ministry of Justice was also posted. In order to bring the content of these explanatory materials to the general public, they were sent to organizations subordinate to the Ministry of Energy. Monitoring is being carried out for the implementation of this order.

In order to inform the public organizations subordinate to the Ministry of Energy and its territorial branches also carried out the following work:

On July 22, 2020, the article “Amendments and Additions to the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On Rational Use of Energy” was published (http://uzbekistonmet.uz/uz/lists/view/440);

On August 3, 2020, the article “Amendments and Additions to the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the Rational Use of Energy” was published (https://t.me/uzmetaxborotxizmati/4241);

On August 6, 2020, a message was posted "The essence and content of the Law" On Amendments and Additions to the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On the Rational Use of Energy" (https://t.me/AO_Hududgaztaminot/1206).

At the same time, special attention is paid to the organization of systemic and targeted events to clarify the content and significance of this Law in the field based on a schedule, as well as targeted events, the effective use of the capabilities of television and radio in the course of promotional events.

The norms adopted in accordance with the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. LRU "On Amendments and Additions to the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan" On the Rational Use of Energy "dated July 14, 2020 will contribute to:

- systematic monitoring of energy consumption efficiency;

- optimization of energy resources consumption and reduction of their consumption;

- strengthening the stable economic development of the country;

- reducing the cost of manufactured products and increasing their competitiveness in foreign markets.