First Deputy Director of the Strategic Reforms Agency, Abdulla Abdukodirov today hosted a delegation of Boston Consulting Group (BCG), including Igor Alekseev, Vasily Guryev, and Igor Kopytov.
During the meeting, the parties discussed the Master Plan for the Uzbekistan Energy Sector Development 2035. This document includes a long-term projections of demand for energy resources, production, and consumption volumes. The Plan covers the country's energy transition process, including the forecast of demand for electricity and natural gas, the distribution of generation capacity, and the development of renewables.
During the discussion, they underscored a number of important aspects to be taken into account when improving the Master Plan, namely the needs of the public, especially the self-employed who use methane and propane to make living.
In addition, they identified increasing energy efficiency, in particular, that of large consumers as a priority goal. This will help reduce consumer costs and the burden on the energy system.
They also emphasized that schools, hospitals and other institutions financed from the state budget should be continuously supplied with natural gas. By maintaining the current level of energy supply to these facilities, an increase in the burden on the country's budget and additional costs for the population will be prevented.
They also noted that it was important to avoid an increase in coal-fired electricity generation during the energy transition, as well as to prevent a sharp reduction in the volume of gas consumed by existing thermal power plants. In this regard, it was proposed to reconsider the mechanisms for redistributing gas capacity, so that existing thermal power plants can effectively operate as a base reserve for additional energy generation.
In the end of the meeting, the parties agreed to improve the Master Plan, taking into account the proposals and recommendations put forward. The development of this document will serve as an important step towards forming a stable and balanced energy system in Uzbekistan, they underscored, adding that it would serve to achieve Uzbekistan’s strategic goals aimed at ensuring economic growth, energy independence, and environmental security.
