Uzbekistan: Utility Price Hike Forcing Families into Debt

The price of electricity is set to increase in Tashkent for the second time this year.

Both commercial and domestic users will see an almost 5 percent spike in costs since April. The new tariff will come into force on July 10.

Electricity rates remain low by global standards -- in the US electricity costs on average 11 cents per kWh, in Uzbekistan domestic users pay just over 2 cents per kWh. But most Uzbek families are ill-equipped to deal with growing household expenditures, a Tashkent-based human rights observer told EurasiaNet on July 2.

"This is a very problematic situation. Prices for food and utilities are always on the rise and no one controls or regulates it. People can't afford [their bills] and they have big debts. [Workers] on very low salaries can't afford their utilities and their debts grow," he said.

The average wage in the Central Asian state is $17 per month.