Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Minister of Energy of the Republic of Uzbekistan Alisher Sultanov and Adviser to the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan on economic development, good governance and international cooperation Suma Chakrabarti discussed the participation of international financial institutions in the process of reforming the country’s energy sector.

During the online discussion, the ministry informed the newly appointed Adviser to the head of state about the scope of the Ministry of Energy’s partnership with international financial institutions (IFIs) to further reform the energy sector in Uzbekistan.

In 2019, under the Ministry of Energy, a Project Office for Reforming the Electricity Industry was created, to which, along with domestic experts, 12 international consultants with experience in reforming the energy industries of many countries were involved. In particular, consultants of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development are taking part in the development of the new version of the Electricity Law, experts from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank are working on modeling a competitive electricity market.

The main conditions for the transition to a competitive wholesale electricity market, according to international experts, are the fulfillment of the following conditions on the part of the state:

- creation of equal conditions for all market participants, both state and private companies;

- creation of a transparent online system of mutual settlements between market participants;

- development and approval of technical regulations for connection to the unified electric power system - "Grid Code" (Electricity Grid Code) for all market participants.

To ensure the above conditions, at the first stage, it is necessary to take such measures as the creation of a Market Regulator, consisting of an independent commission, as well as a Market Operator (state company) with an online platform through which all transactions for the purchase and sale of electricity will be carried out.

Cooperation with international financial institutions on the construction of new generating capacities is also being successfully implemented.

In particular, in cooperation with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), work is underway to identify potential investors for the construction of 2 GW solar PV plants and 1 GW wind farms until 2025. Projects are implemented using the public-private partnership mechanism. Currently, with the support of the IFI, a tender is being held for the construction on PPP principles of three solar PV power plants of 200 MW each in Jizzakh, Samarkand and Surkhandarya regions, as well as a 100 MW wind power plant in the Republic of Karakalpakstan.

In February of this year, with the technical assistance of the IFC, a tender was announced for the implementation of the investment project "Construction of a thermal power plant with a capacity of 1200-1500 MW in the Syrdarya region on a PPP basis." The determination of the winner of the tender is planned in the first quarter of 2021.

On 4 November, with the assistance of ADB and EBRD, a tender was announced for the implementation of the project "Expansion of the Talimarjan TPP with the construction of two more combined cycle gas turbines with a total capacity of at least 900 MW".

Also, with the technical assistance of JAYKA (Japan), a project is being implemented to introduce IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) at the enterprises of JSC Thermal Power Plants.

In addition, it was noted that with the assistance of experts and consultants from IFIs:

- recommendations were prepared for further reforming the oil and gas industry with the provision of a detailed implementation plan;

- the "General plan for the development of the gas transmission system until 2030" was developed;

- recommendations were prepared for the implementation of international practice on tariff setting, and work is underway to prepare a methodology for tariffs.

During the online discussion, the parties noted the importance of reforming the fuel and energy complex (Fuel and Energy Complex), taking into account the impact that this industry has on the investment climate of the country as a whole.

Mr. Chakrabarti highly appreciated the work carried out by the ministry to implement reforms and their positive impact on attracting foreign direct investment.

An agreement was reached to provide the Presidential Adviser with detailed information on the progress of reforms in order to analyze them and develop recommendations that will be discussed during the next meeting, scheduled for January 2021.