Law tying electricity access to waste payment enforcement meets technical hurdles

Electricity payments in Uzbekistan will be restricted for individuals with outstanding debt for waste collection services starting from August 1.

However, members of the Senate have pointed out a number of issues regarding the implementation of this policy, particularly around notifying users about their debts. The Senate Committee on Agricultural, Water Management and Environmental Issues sent official inquiries to relevant ministries and agencies in response to these concerns.

Currently, the HET BILLING app operated by Regional Electric Networks (REN) does not display information on waste collection debts. This has been attributed to the incomplete integration between the billing systems of RES and Toza makon – the national solid waste management operator.

The inquiry also addressed the issue of some consumers lacking formal contracts for waste management services. In addition, inaccuracies in customer billing accounts were highlighted as a major concern in light of the upcoming policy.

The committee has asked the Ministry of Ecology and the Ministry of Energy to provide information on data exchange challenges and offer potential solutions. According to current legislation, a written response to a parliamentary inquiry must be submitted within 10 days, unless otherwise specified.

In March, the president signed a law linking electricity payments to the timely settlement of household waste collection fees. The law officially came into effect on June 8.

Under the new rules, consumers will receive SMS notifications about unpaid waste removal bills. If the debt is not paid within five days of receiving the message, payments for electricity will be temporarily blocked.