Heating goes up 400 per cent; electricity, 170 per cent. Government claims hikes are necessary to improve services. In cities though, people are freezing at -20 Celsius and are now expected to spend as much as 80 per cent of their salary on hot water and electricity.

Bishkek (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Energy shortages and an obsolete Soviet-era infrastructure have made winter a dreaded period of the year for most Kyrgyz. Rationing and frequent blackouts are regular events during the cold season. This year matters are worse because the government has raised heating costs by 400 per cent and electricity by 170 per cent.

In their defence, the authorities said that prices have not increased in almost seven years, and that higher costs will go to modernise the infrastructure and find new sources of energy.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Kyrgyzstan failed to developed alternative energy sources. This means that it still depends on its former Soviet neighbours, like Uzbekistan for gas.

Except for domestic hydroelectric plants whose output goes to factories, the country lacks adequate energy supplies. In addition, Prime Minister Daniyar Usenov said that the cost of producing a kilowatt-hour of electricity at the Bishkek thermal power station was 1.7 soms (US .04) and sold at 0.7 som, far less than necessary for the state-controlled energy company to break even, let alone be able to afford repairs and regular maintenance of its equipment.

Under the new plan, tariffs will go up in two phases this year, in January and in July.

The price of hot water—a fee calculated according to the size of a resident's dwelling—more than doubled at the start of the year.

In cities where temperatures can dip to minus 20 degrees Celsius in winter, many will not be able to pay for the hike.

If people before “used to spend 20-30 per cent of their pay check on payments, now they will have to spend about 80 per cent of their salary to pay for the utilities," Bishkek-based political analyst Mars Sariev told EurasiaNet.  Many of them will have to wear heavy clothing and freeze, even at home.

Still, the government is not too concerned about popular unrest over the increase, because the opposition lacks real leaders, experts said.

• kyrgyzstan
• energy
• economic
• crisis
• price
• increase