Electricity tariff to remain lowest in world even if doubled in Kyrgyzstan

Even if the tariff for electricity is doubled in Kyrgyzstan, it will still remain the lowest in the world. This was announced today at a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee for the Fuel, Energy Complex and Subsoil Use by the World Bank expert Katharina Gassner.

According to her, 80 percent of the population of Kyrgyzstan pays at the tariffs that are below the payback — 77 tyiyn per kilowatt-hour. «Even if you double it, it will remain the lowest in the world. I’m not talking about the need to raise the tariff. It is necessary to increase the profitability of the industry. This can be achieved through a tariff increase or a reduction of the threshold consumption of 700 kilowatt-hours per month,» Katharina Gassner explained.

Deputies asked if sale of companies would help to solve the problem. «Privatization of the energy sector is not a solution to the difficulties. The distribution companies are not in a state to benefit from the transaction,» Katharina Gassner told.