Uzbekistan's unified energy system recorded a new historical maximum for daily electricity consumption. According to the Ministry of Energy, on July 14, 2026, daily consumption reached 284 million kWh, surpassing both the previous summer record and the figure set during the winter peak.
This new peak is 5.4 million kWh (or 1.94%) higher than the previous summer record of 278.6 million kWh, which was registered the day before, July 13, 2026. It is important to note that this surge also exceeded the historical winter maximum recorded on January 24, 2026, when daily consumption reached 283 million kWh.
On the same day, domestic electricity production amounted to 287.3 million kWh. This volume exceeds the previous winter generation record by 9.7 million kWh (or 3.49%), which was 277.6 million kWh. To ensure stable power supply under increased loads, emergency repair crews from regional energy enterprises were placed on high alert and are working continuously to resolve local technical issues.
Over the past day, specialists successfully restored power supply in several districts of Tashkent, including Chilonzor, Shaykhontokhur, Yakkasaroy, Sergeli, and Olmazor. Additionally, crews repaired high-voltage transmission lines in several districts of the Kashkadaryo region—such as Karshi, Koson, Kukdala, Kamashi, Guzar, Kitob, and Chirochchi—after they were damaged by strong winds.
In parallel, planned work on modernizing and reconstructing the energy infrastructure continues across the country. These measures include upgrading power plants, substations, transformer stations, transmission lines, and associated equipment, as well as increasing capacities to maintain grid stability during seasonal peak loads.
The Ministry of Energy warned that due to technical stresses in the distribution networks, short-term local power outages may occur during hours of maximum demand. The Ministry also strongly recommended that the public use electricity responsibly during intense heat. Citizens are advised to set air conditioners to a moderate temperature range of 24°C to 26°C and regularly clean their device filters. According to energy workers, such simple measures can reduce individual consumption, decrease the overall load on the national grid, and contribute to a healthier internal environment.
Patrick Lupuzi regularly visits the University of the Western Cape (UWC) campus to feed and care for local wild cats. These animals, numbering around 113 individuals, live alongside a dog named Meisiehond.
The UWC wild cat care project (TUFCAT) was founded in 1997 by Dr. Sharyn Spicer and the late Andre Oppelt. The project aims to ensure daily feeding of the cats, as well as providing them with sterilization, veterinary care, and necessary check-ups.
During the first cat audit in 1999, approximately 165 cats inhabited the campus grounds. Thanks to the Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program, the population gradually stabilized and decreased over time.
Lupuzi modified the enclosure entrances to prevent Egyptian geese from stealing food from the cats. He starts feeding the cats at 6:20 AM six days a week while the campus is quiet. On Sundays, Dr. Spicer takes on this responsibility.
The morning routine prompts the cats to leave their shelters, allowing Lupuzi to monitor their health and well-being. During feeding, Lupuzi moves between bowls, cleaning each one, and then replenishes dry food in selected bowls located inside the enclosures. He also refreshes water in 34 enclosures scattered across the campus. Some of these feeding points are far away, such as near Unibell and the Hector Pieterson Residence.
Most of the cats are very timid, but some are friendly and readily accept affection from passersby. The cats also benefit the campus by helping to prevent potential rodent problems.
Lupuzi admitted that he was not initially a cat lover, preferring dogs. However, over time, he began to love them, noting that caring for them serves as a huge stress reliever and brings him great pleasure. He emphasized that the way the cats look at him and wait for food is a very special experience.
TUFCAT receives support through donations and the sale of used books. The project is also featured on the Woolworths app, where supporters can select the UWC/TUFCAT Wild Cat Project as their 'My Cause'. A portion of purchases made using the MyDifference card is then directed to supporting this project. Additional information on how to support TUFCAT can be found on the website www.tufcat.co.za.
A three-day media expedition traveled from Dengizkul in Bukhara region, through the Amudarya's taghial forests and Khorezm National Park, to Sudochye near the former shore of the Aral Sea. This trip demonstrated that water is necessary not only for the needs of cities and fields.
The expedition, organized as part of the Aral Sea Wetlands project, was implemented with the participation of the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change of Uzbekistan, the United Nations Development Programme, and the Global Environment Facility. The route covered Bukhara and Khorezm regions, as well as Karakalpakstan, passing through Dengizkul, the Kyzylkum Reserve, the Lower Amudarya Biosphere Reserve, and Lake Sudochye.
The main topics of discussion included biodiversity conservation, land degradation, the state of protected areas, and finding sustainable sources of income for the local population. Special emphasis was placed not on the complete 'return of the Aral Sea' to its former boundaries, but on maintaining the viability of existing ecosystems: lakes, wetlands, taghials, pastures, and bird migration routes.
Experts emphasized that this is not just about the minimum volume of water that should be left in the river, but about a scientifically based irrigation regime. This regime must ensure the inflow of water to the right place, at the right time, and in the necessary quantity to support lake life, renew taghial forests, and preserve habitats for fish and birds.
Professor Malika Ikramova, head of the 'Integrated Water Resource Use' laboratory at the Research Institute of Irrigation and Water Problems, noted that due to limited water resources, competition between industries is increasing. She added that despite the existence of a Water Code that addresses sustainable management, the next step should be the development of additional regulatory documents.
The first stop was Dengizkul Lake in the Alat district of Bukhara region. Amidst desert vegetation such as saxaul, kandim, solyanka, and tamarisk, a blue lake appeared. Despite its apparent stillness, it represents a complex and fragile system dependent on collector-drainage waters, the quality of which is characterized by high mineralization.
Khalilulla Sherimbetov, an environmental protection expert, pointed out the international significance of Dengizkul: the lake is located on a migratory route and is listed in the Ramsar Convention. Dozens of bird species, including pelicans, swans, and herons, many of which are listed in the Red Book, winter here and stopover.
Specialists note that during certain periods, Dengizkul concentrates about 40% of the wetland birds wintering in Uzbekistan. These birds require not only water but also a food base, safe resting places, and reed beds. 34 plant species grow around the lake, three of which are endemic.
Next, the route led to the Kyzylkum State Reserve, where the sands of Kyzylkum contrast with the floodplain of the Amudarya and the taghial forests. The reserve director, Mirzagali Kilishev, explained that the taghial ecosystems formed due to proximity to the river. Turanga, willow, loch, and reeds grow in these forests, reaching heights of 20–40 meters.
The taghial forest critically depends on natural floods and soil moisture for its renewal. If water inflow stops, young trees die, and the forest begins to degrade. Mirzagali Kilishev emphasized that the forest does not consume water from the Amudarya; rather, it protects the river from excessive evaporation and retains life in the floodplain.
In the Khorezm National Natural Park, which is a new protected area, taghial resources of the ancient Amudarya delta are preserved. The Bukhara deer, Turkmen caracal, and various bird species inhabit this area. The inspector explained how the turanga adapts to hot sand: its roots can reach 25 meters deep, absorbing clean water from a depth of 15 meters.
The development of hybrid, dual-fuel, and electric vehicles represents a new approach by the government to manage fuel and energy consumption. This approach entails not only reforms in the gasoline sector but also a fundamental transformation of the automotive industry's production structure, as well as technological changes in this field.
President Masoud Pezeshkian's emphasis on accelerating reforms concerning gasoline quotas, public transport development, and increasing the production of hybrid and dual-fuel cars demonstrates the government's new course toward managing fuel by replacing the fleet with low-consumption models.
The government's focus on the production of hybrid and dual-fuel machines sends a clear signal to domestic manufacturers: in the new paradigm, the automotive industry must transform from an industry producing 'consumer goods' into an 'energy security executive body.' The development of hybrid products, due to significantly reduced liquid fuel consumption, is capable of reducing the load on oil refineries and substantially decreasing the country's need for gasoline imports in the medium term.
Hybrid cars, combining internal combustion engine operation and electric motors, ensure stable operation both in urban areas and on intercity routes while effectively helping to balance the energy imbalance. The expansion of this technology will lead to a gradual change in consumer habits and market preferences, and will free up financial resources for the development of new energy infrastructure by reducing the burden on the budget in the fuel supply sector.
Moreover, increasing the share of hybrid vehicles acts as a catalyst for the successful implementation of fuel subsidy reforms and the creation of a sustainable development cycle in the automotive industry. As a strategic solution alongside hybrids, the modernization of the dual-fuel (natural gas-powered) vehicle fleet is proposed. Since Iran is one of the world's largest natural gas producers, reorienting the fleet, including part of heavy logistics, to gas prevents the waste of foreign currency on gasoline imports.
Analysis of gasoline consumption shows that converting part of the existing fleet to a dual-fuel system and widely producing new vehicles with this technology can compensate for the acute gasoline shortage by utilizing 'excess gas capacity.' This will not only reduce costs for citizens and enterprises on fuel but also decrease economic pressure on the government regarding the supply of expensive fuel. Experts believe that the Ministry of Industry, Mining, and Trade, as the responsible body for the automotive industry, and local manufacturers must abandon traditional production models and build development plans based on 'alternative technologies.' However, this requires special state support, including preferential lending for modernizing the fleet towards low-consumption and dual-fuel vehicles, R&D support for localizing components of hybrid engines and energy management systems, and a review of tariffs to facilitate the import of advanced technologies for producing environmentally friendly vehicles.
Undoubtedly, reducing the fuel imbalance means ensuring energy supply to various sectors and preventing fuel crises that could lead to the shutdown of production lines or increased logistical costs. Optimal fuel mixture management is one of the key tasks of the five-year development plan, within which automakers are obliged to allocate part of their production to low-consumption and clean vehicles. Accordingly, the goal of producing half a million electric and hybrid vehicles annually, while simultaneously reducing fuel consumption, will increase productivity and stimulate the development of new technologies in the automotive industry.
Although domestic manufacturers are already producing products in the field of new technologies, besides hybrids and dual-fuel vehicles, the role of electric vehicles is critically important, especially in public transport and in phasing out old vehicles. In this regard, the country began producing electric buses last year, which have already entered the public fleet.
Automotive expert Amir-Hassan Kakayi told IRAN that several local manufacturers are currently producing electric and hybrid vehicles, although mass production of such models requires significant resources. He added that implementing electric and hybrid vehicles is not the only solution for reducing fuel consumption and air pollution; other factors such as the aging of the fleet and the development of public transport infrastructure must also be considered.
Kakayi noted the crisis of fleet aging: more than 17 million of the country's 27 million vehicles are considered worn out, their age significantly exceeding the global standard of 10 years. The expert emphasized that the main problem is not just eliminating superficial defects, but that the fundamental problem of fleet aging has not been properly addressed in the country's seven-year plans. He also stated that replacing cars with electric ones in Iran does not necessarily lead to reduced fuel consumption and 'purification' of the environment, since the country's energy balance is still based on fossil fuels. Furthermore, the country faces a gas shortage (relative to cleaner fuel), and in many regions, fuel oil must be used. Thus, converting fossil fuels to electricity for electric vehicles only shifts pollution from the car's exhaust pipes to the power plant's smokestacks and is not a final solution for improving air quality in cities like Tehran. Kakayi concluded that the main problem is an economic and political one, not a technological one. He suggested shifting priority from 'passenger cars' to 'public transport,' stating that the budget should be directed towards developing public transport fleets, especially electric buses, since Iran is capable of producing such buses, but a lack of attention from decision-makers has hindered the development of this sector.
