Bishkek, Tashkent Reach Agreement On Gas, Electricity

Addressing a news briefing in Bishkek, Usenov said that under a deal reached in Tashkent on December 13 Uzbekistan will sell Kyrgyzstan its gas at a price of $100 per 1,000 cubic meters starting January 1.

Kyrgyzstan currently pays $55 per 1,000 cubic meters of Uzbek gas.

To compensate for the hike, Usenov said Kyrgyzstan would initially charge Uzbekistan 1.1 cent ($0.011) for each kilowatt-hour (KwH) of electricity and progressively raise the price to a targeted two cents by the end of 2007.

Uzbekistan this year paid one cent ($0.01) per KwH of Kyrgyz electricity.

Under the agreement, Kyrgyzstan will buy 850 million cubic meters of gas from Uzbekistan.

(24.kg, AKIpress)