Uzbekistan in 2021 will begin the formation of a wholesale energy carriers market

The Uzbek authorities plan to cancel the state monopoly in the supply of electricity and natural gas and introduce market mechanisms in 2021, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said in his annual address to the country's parliament on Tuesday.

"In 2021, the formation of a wholesale electricity market will begin with the participation of state and private power plants and consumers. We will also cancel the monopoly and introduce market mechanisms in the supply of natural gas. Thus, producers and importers will have the right to sell, and wholesale consumers, to buy natural gas at exchange ", - said Mirziyoyev. According to him, it is necessary to create a free competitive environment in the commodity and financial markets, as well as equal opportunities for entrepreneurs to raw materials access. "Today there are monopolies in the markets for electricity and gas, precious metals, mineral fertilizers, transport services, and many problems remain in these areas," the president said. According to official statistics, natural gas production in Uzbekistan in 2019 decreased by 1.6% compared to 2018, to 59.46 billion cubic meters. 61.6 billion kWh of electricity was produced in 2019 against 62.4 billion kWh in 2018. Natural gas production in Uzbekistan in January-September 2020 decreased by 19.6%, compared to the same period in 2019 to 44.878 billion cubic meters. At the end of nine months, more than 51.65 billion kWh of electricity was generated., That is about 4% more compared to the same period in 2019.