NEWS BRIEFS
7/02/09
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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.
Posted July 2, 2009 © Eurasianet
http://www.eurasianet.org
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