Uzbekistan to Revise Rules for Building Power Plants

Uzbekistan plans to change how electricity projects are selected. Instead of relying mainly on investor initiatives, the state will set its own estimates of needed new capacity in advance and offer prepared sites through open tenders. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced the move on 16 October at a meeting with investors in the fuel and energy sector.

Mirziyoyev recalled that in the early stage of renewable energy development, companies often proposed construction sites themselves. This helped speed up the launch of solar and wind power plants and attract significant investment. However, the practice led to generating facilities being concentrated in certain regions, raising the cost of transmitting electricity to consumers elsewhere in the country.

Under the new approach, authorities will determine the required generation volume for each region and then form projects and put them to competitive bidding. Investors will be able to review conditions in advance, including land plot locations, connection parameters and timelines, and procedures for electricity purchase and settlement. The first stage will be tenders for six solar and wind projects with a total capacity of 2,200 MW. During the same meeting, agreements were signed on six large energy projects worth $4.7 billion, providing for 3,000 MW of generation and 400 MW of electricity storage.