"Installation of alternative energy sources will be the priority of national policies of Uzbekistan", Shavkat Mirziyoyev said at the government meeting on energy conservation and expansion of the use of alternative energy sources on Tuesday.

The meeting discussed the achievement of target figures for saving power and natural gas, defined for all provinces at the beginning of the year.

In July, when the president visited the Fergana province, measures were presented to additionally - twice - exceed the savings plans.

It is reported that scientists from the Fergana Polytechnic Institute, having studied electricity consumption in the Fergana province, found that annual losses at the Logon substation, serving about 4,600 households and 233 entrepreneurs, amount to 5 million kWh. This is 1.5 times higher than the rate of natural losses.

Calculations showed that due to the uniform distribution of the load of 113 transformers receiving electricity from the substation, it is possible to prevent losses of 765 thousand kWh. "The most important thing is that it does not require any expenses, it is only necessary to properly organize management at the district power grid enterprise," the presidential press service said in a statement.

The installation of reactive power batteries on 44 transformers servicing water pumps can also reportedly reduce losses by 1.1 million kWh per year. Moreover, the costs of installing the batteries, according to calculations, will pay off within a year.

In general, it has been calculated that at 14 substations in the Fergana province, losses amount to 15.5 million kWh, which is equivalent to an average of 6 billion soums per year. With effective organization of work, it is possible to fulfill the plan for saving electricity.

There are 1,800 such substations and about 100 thousand transformers in Uzbekistan. The President gave instructions to implement this experience in other provinces.

In Karakalpakstan, "good results" in saving gas have been achieved, the statement added. 145 million cubic meters of gas per year were saved in 95 thousand households, by replacing outdated burners in boilers with energy-saving ones and insulating the heating system.

The installation of such furnaces with energy-saving burners has begun for another 16 thousand needy families at the expense of the local budget. Thanks to this, it is expected that 20 million cubic meters of gas will be saved, and 12 billion soums will remain at the disposal of the needy population.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev set the task of replacing heating systems in 1 million households in the country with energy-saving ones.

He noted at the meeting that only 25% of the 2,349 large gas consumers in Uzbekistan had modern gas-saving equipment installed.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev instructed the provincial governor’s offices and the Uzenergoinspektsiya to deal with this issue. It was recently reported that the inspection was transferred from the Ministry of Energy to the Cabinet of Ministers. This should increase its capabilities and efficiency.