In Uzbekistan, charging stations for electric vehicles are being forcibly shut down. This was reported to Spot by several market participants.
According to them, the first shutdowns of electric charging stations began early last week. One company reported around 20 stations were disconnected, mainly located in Tashkent. Another company noted that there are "quite a few" stations disconnected from the power grid.
Market participants indicated that they were not warned about the shutdowns and were not provided with any legal documents. The companies learned about these actions post factum while monitoring the operation of the stations.
Entrepreneurs lamented that regardless of the operation of electric charging stations, they still have obligations to pay rent and other fees. Additionally, the shutdowns of the stations have led to customer dissatisfaction, damaging the companies' reputations.
Moreover, on December 14, one of the companies received letters from the district cadastral departments of Tashkent demanding the dismantling of charging stations installed in the parking lots of cafes and restaurants, business centers, and on adjacent territories within 15 days.
The spokesperson for the Ministry of Energy, Hasan Toshkhojaev, stated to Spot that no restrictions on the operation of electric charging stations have been imposed by the ministry. He emphasized that the Ministry of Energy supports the promotion of electric vehicles in Uzbekistan.
In response to Spot's question regarding whether this artificially limits the demand for electricity amidst the cold weather, Toshkhojaev replied that there is no observed shortage of electricity, and generating capacities meet the existing demand.
Previously, Spot reported that monthly imports of electric vehicles have reached a new record for the third time.