Coal industry and electric power

Electricity output should grow faster than other branches because it is used in every sphere of the economy. In Uzbekistan most electricity comes from thermal power plants (TPPs), which run mainly on natural gas. Big TPPs are Syrdarya, Tashkent, Angren, New Angren, Navoi, Takhiatash and Talimarjon. A TPP is built fairly fast and cheaply; it is sited at the fuel source or beside consumers, whichever makes transport cost lower. Stations giving both electricity and heat are CHPs: Tashkent, Fergana and Mubarak; hot water cools beyond about 20 km, so CHPs are built near big cities or plants. HPPs use the power of flowing water and their energy is cheap; the first HPP was built in 1926 on the Bozsu canal, and the Chirchiq–Bozsu cascade of HPPs is the largest in the country. HPPs bring reservoirs, irrigation and fish farming. In recent years solar and wind power plants have been built (for example in Navoi, Samarkand and Bukhara areas), and a nuclear plant has been planned, with conditions that may change. Big stations are united by transmission lines into one power grid, so consumers get steady electricity.