Published
09/08/2025, 17:50Kyrgyzstan is preparing changes to the rules for supporting low-income families. Today, 8 September, a draft presidential decree was submitted for public discussion, proposing the abolition of preferential tariffs for low-income families and a transition to monetised support in the form of cash compensation.
This concerns families with children under the age of 16 who receive the state benefit ‘Uy-bulogo komok’.
Currently, such families pay for electricity at a preferential rate of 50 tyyns per 1 kWh for consumption of up to 700 kWh per month. The draft proposes:
Compensation will be calculated based on the tariff for the population for consumption up to 700 kWh, with a deduction of 50 tyyns for each kWh.
At the end of 2024, the number of beneficiaries in this category was 62,796 families. Their total electricity consumption of up to 700 kWh per month reached 320.4 million kWh per year, and the energy companies' lost revenue due to the preferential tariff exceeded 185 million KGS.
On average, one family consumed 425.2 kWh per month. In total, there were about 66,200 families in the country, almost 95% of which benefited from the subsidy. For comparison: in 2021, there were 111,000 such families, in 2022 — 103,000, and in 2023 — 83,200.
"The current mechanism is ineffective because the benefits do not always reach the intended recipients, as families often change their place of residence and rent accommodation. At the same time, energy companies face an annual deficit, which is covered by budget loans. In 2024 alone, 8.93 billion soms were allocated to support the energy sector," the explanatory note to the draft presidential decree notes.
It is expected that the transition to cash compensation will cover all recipients of the benefit without the risk of ‘lost recipients’, reduce the burden on energy companies and the budget, and increase the targeting and transparency of social support.
