Uzbekistan authorities plan to set social electricity and gas consumption norms starting from May 1 this year, gazeta.uz reported on April 16, citing the Deputy Minister of Energy of Uzbekistan, Umid Mamadaminov.    

The government reportedly set the following social rates of consumption of electricity and natural gas: 

• electricity – up to 200 kWh per month;
• natural gas – up to 100 cubic meters for the period from March through October;
• natural gas – up to 500 cubic meters during the heating season from November through February. 

A social norm is the amount paid by the residential customers at a preferential rate; for the established rate electricity or natural gas is sold at a relatively low (preferential) price, and above this norm -- at market prices. 

Residential customers, whose apartments are centrally equipped with electric stoves for cooking, will pay for electric power at the rate of 225 sums per 1 kWh against the current 147.5 sums (the current exchange rate of the sum against the dollar is 12,600:1) within the social norm.  For electricity consumed above the set social norm they will pay at the rate of 450 sums per 1 kWh for the amount from 201 kwh to 1000 kWh, and at the rate ranging from 675 to 900 sums per 1 kWh for the amount above 1000 kwh.  

For other residential customers the electricity rate for the social norm will rise from 295 sums per 1 kWh to 450 sums per 1 kWh, and above the set social norm they will pay from 900 to 1,800 sums depending on the amount of the consumed electric power.  

The rate of one cubic meter of natural gas supplied to residential customers during the heating period (November-February) will rise from 380 sums to 650 sums for consumption of natural gas within limits up 500 cubic meters per month.

For the monthly consumption of 500 to 2500 cubic meters of natural gas, residential customers will have to pay at the rate of 1,500 sums per 1 cubic meter; from 2,500 to 5,000 cubic meters – 1950 sums per 1 cubic meter; from 5,000 to 10,000 cubic meters – 2,275 sums per 1 cubic meter; and for the amount above 10,000 cubic meters – 2,600 sums per one cubic meter.