By Eurasianet – Jan 07, 2026, 11:30 AM CST
Hydropower production in Uzbekistan fell sharply in 2025 due to a significant decline in river inflows and reservoir levels.
Solar and wind power surged, more than doubling output and driving a broader increase in renewable electricity generation.
Officials are exploring micro hydropower systems along irrigation canals to conserve water while expanding rural electricity access.
An acute water shortage in Uzbekistan seems to have a silver lining. The brewing crisis is forcing officials to speedily embrace solar and wind power and rethink the country’s hydropower strategy to make it more water-efficient.
Uzhydroenergo, a state-run electricity entity, reported January 5 that hydropower production plummeted by 20 percent in 2025, totaling 6.5 billion kilowatt hours (kWh). By comparison, Uzbekistan generated 8.1 kWh from hydropower in 2024.
Officials attributed the drop in production to a burgeoning water deficit. Energy Minister Zhurabek Mirzamakhmudov stated that inflow from transboundary rivers, combined with the volumes contained in reservoirs during 2025, were roughly 35 percent lower than long-term average values, according to a report distributed by the UPL news agency. Low water levels on rivers limited the ability of large hydro plants to generate electricity, Mirzamakhmudov added.
According to an Uzhydroenergo statement, the company made the best of a difficult situation by achieving significant efficiencies in operations.
“The company’s internal statistics point to a paradoxical situation: against a backdrop of an overall 33 percent decrease in resources during 2025, the introduction of new management approaches and modernization efforts temporarily resulted in periods of increased efficiency,” Uzhydroenergo reported.
The share of hydropower as part of overall electricity production in Uzbekistan has nosedived in recent years, dropping from 10 percent in 2024 to 7.3 percent last year. Earlier in the 2000s, hydropower accounted for as much as 19 percent of overall annual electricity generation.
While the country grapples with water woes, total electricity production generated by renewable resources rose by 29 percent in 2025 over the previous year, thanks to the rapid expansion of solar and wind power capacity, according to the Ministry of Energy. Solar and wind were responsible for generating about 10.5 kWh of electricity in 2025, an over two-fold increase compared to the previous year’s total.
Electricity generation from all sources increased by 6 percent in 2025 over the previous year’s totals, according to Energy Ministry data.
To make more efficient use of dwindling water resources, Mirzamakhmudov indicated that the government is exploring a strategic shift away from reliance on large-scale hydropower plants. Instead, officials are mulling the deployment of micro hydroelectric generators across the more than 93,000 miles of canals and irrigation systems in the country. Such a strategy could expand electricity supplies in rural areas without reducing water supplies needed for agricultural production. Micro generators can cost as little as a couple of hundred dollars each.
By Eurasianet
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