The winters in Kyrgyzstan are cold – outside and inside. This year, people across the country are bracing for electricity shortages.
On October 12, a video was posted on YouTube showing heart surgeons performing an operation during a blackout. In Bishkek, the local energy distribution company Severelectro included a notice with each utility bill in which it described the current situation as “critical” and called on consumers to conserve electricity and use alternatives to heat their homes.
As reported by EurasiaNet, southern Kyrgyzstan has been without gas since April, when Russia’s Gazprom took over the country’s gas network, and neighbouring Uzbekistan said it would not work with the Russians. This forced residents in the south to use precious and expensive electricity to cook, or resort to burning dung and sometimes even furniture.
But there’s some good news, according to the report. For instance, Kazakhstan agreed on October 14 to supply over 1 billion kWh of electricity this fall and winter. In September, the Russian energy giant Gazprom announced gas prices for exports to northern Kyrgyzstan – that is, the only areas connected to its network, since Uzbekistan refuses to supply its gas to the southern network – would fall 20%.