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Late last week, the Minister of Energy of Uzbekistan, Jurabek Mirzamakhmudov, officially announced that entrepreneurs facing pressure to install solar panels or threats of electricity disconnection could directly contact his office. The minister personally provided the office phone number for citizens to report these issues.
This statement sparked a wave of calls — the Ministry of Energy started receiving a massive number of calls from entrepreneurs and citizens facing similar situations. The phone lines of the minister’s office were literally “overloaded” with requests, confirming the urgency of the issue. In just two days, the office received more than a thousand calls, many of which were related to solar panel questions, electricity disconnection threats, and the general condition of electrical networks in various regions of the country.
According to representatives of the Ministry of Energy, from October 7 to 8, more than 1,200 calls were made to the minister’s office, but many of them could not be answered due to overloaded lines. Only 131 calls were answered. On average, each call took between 3 to 6 minutes, while 4 to 8 calls were coming in simultaneously. However, since only one person was answering the phone, it was impossible to handle all the calls.
As a result, the ministry increased the number of phone lines from October 9 to handle all inquiries and assist citizens dealing with similar problems. Now, the ministry can be reached at +99871-231-14-41 and +99871-231-16-61 (extensions 7046, 7037, and 7057).
The majority of calls (54) were related to questions about the benefits of solar panels, the government-provided incentives for installation, and where to buy solar panels at affordable prices. Additionally, 31 citizens reported being forced to install the equipment under the threat of electricity disconnection, despite having alternative energy sources. However, according to Minister Mirzamakhmudov, no one should be forced to install solar panels, and it is a matter of personal choice for each entrepreneur or household.
Another 28 callers reported the need to replace old electrical poles and overhead power lines in their neighborhoods, while the rest contacted the ministry regarding other issues.
The Ministry of Energy has already started taking action to restore power supply in areas where entrepreneurs were unlawfully disconnected for refusing to install solar panels. These areas include Bektemir, Yunusabad, Sergeli, and Yashnabad districts of Tashkent, as well as Syrdarya, Tashkent, Surkhandarya, and Fergana regions.
Earlier, we reported that Tashkent entrepreneurs were receiving “surprise letters” about electricity disconnection due to the absence of solar panels.
The article may contain inaccuracies as it is translated by AI. For more details, please refer to the Russian version of the article. If you notice any inaccuracies, you can send corrections via the Telegram bot: Uzvaibik_bot.
