Kyrgyz president rebukes officials over heavy-handed energy-saving raids

President Sadyr Japarov of Kyrgyzstan has issued a sharp warning to senior officials — including the mayors of Bishkek and Osh — after reports that recent energy-saving inspections were carried out with excessive force.

Japarov said the original instruction was clear: officials were tasked with restoring order only in places where noise and disturbance genuinely affected residents, such as banquet halls hosting celebrations lasting late into the night with up to 800 guests, Caliber.Az reports via Kyrgyz media.

However, he noted that inspection teams had gone far beyond that mandate. “Some restaurants were shut down, and people sitting quietly in cafés were forced to leave,” he said.

Japarov added that entrepreneurs had been treated harshly, with electricity and water cut off without justification.

“I am warning you — stop these extremes,” the President stressed. He said energy-saving efforts should begin with state facilities and institutions that “out of habit leave the lights on around the clock under the principle of ‘the state pays’.”

By Aghakazim Guliyev