Uzbekistan Country Gender Assessment: Update

Energy

1. Context

the household electrification rate in Uzbekistan is almost 100%, but the system is aging and requires upgrading and renovation, especially in the rural areas. there is significant disparity in access, quality, and customer service between urban and rural settings. Major concerns include unsustainable supply, with frequent interruptions (up to 5 hours in rural areas); poor quality; and voltage fluctuations. additionally, supply differs considerably according to season. In the cold season, power interruptions usually happen at night.⁶³

Other issues include inefficient energy use, and the lack of energy-saving technologies and devices. a household survey doneunder the adB-financed advanced electricity Metering project revealed that many households use cheap and inefficient devices, thus increasing energy consumption and costs.⁶⁴ Smaller cities and rural areas often have insufficient electric lighting in bus stops, streets, and other public spaces, presenting security risks and discomfort, particularly for women.⁶⁵ the criteria and norms for streetlighting are not uniform nationwide and are focused mainly on larger urban areas.⁶⁶

the 2014 CGa expressed concern about electricity rates for home-based businesses.⁶⁷ despite the impossibility of separating domestic and business consumption, such rates are 25%–30% higher than the tariffs on home consumption.⁶⁸ to increase women’s engagement, the government should support a review of the mechanism for estimating tariffs on home-based businesses.

2. Government Commitments

Recently, the government intensified its focus on the energy sector. In January–June 2017, four key presidential decrees were adopted to produce reforms and further develop hydropower in


⁶³ according to field surveys conducted by adB in 2017 in the regions of tashkent, andijan, Namangan, [note comma] and Kashkadarya, in preparation for the CGa update.
⁶⁴ Information obtained during adB’s socioeconomic and gender survey of households in the regions of Samarkand, Bukhara, and Jizzakh under the advanced electricity Metering project.
⁶⁵ Y. Lambrou and G. piana. 2006. Energy and Gender in Rural Sustainable Development. Rome: Food and agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
⁶⁶ Currently, “the entities responsible for streetlighting are the provincial and district local governments (hokimiyats), the State Committee on architecture and Construction, the state unitary enterprise toshshaharnur [note: no quotes around the name, and the capital city (tashkent).
⁶⁷ adB. 2014. Uzbekistan Country Gender Assessment. Manila. p. 48.
⁶⁸ according to the decree of the Ministry of energy, home businesses qualify for category 7 (item 8.3) tariffs: “the straight-line rate requires payment for kilowatt-hours of active power supplied to the consumer.” No increment is indicated for small businesses run from home.
Mainstreaming Gender in ADB Operations, by Sector 19

2017–2021 with Uzbekgidroenergo, a joint-stock company (JSC), as the executive and liable entity. planned interventions involve building 42 hydropower plants and upgrading 32 plants, thus increasing by 1.7% the national capacity for environmentally friendly hydropower by 2025.

Uzbekenergo JSC is a key electric power authority that provides electricity nationwide and supplies heat to industrial and household consumers in several cities.⁶⁹ It supervises 65 enterprises, including 54 power projects with over 72,000 employees. It also operates seven thermal power plants, six hydropower plants, and three thermal power centers.⁷⁰

3.