DUSHANBE, August 7, 2015, Asia-Plus — Tajikistan reportedly offers restoration of the Central Asian unified power grid.
Tajik power system is fully prepared for operation in parallel with the Central Asian unified power grid, according to the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources of Tajikistan (MoEWR).
An official source at a MoEWR says Tajikistan is ready to supply electricity to neighboring countries, in particular to Uzbekistan, “if relevant agreements are reached.”
According to him, Tajikistan has always come out for resumption of operation of power systems of the countries of the region in parallel regime.
“At the last meeting of the CIS Electrical Energy Council that took place in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, in May this year, Tajikistan raised the issue of resumption of operation of the Central Asian unified power grid and practically all participants in the meeting supported our proposal and the meeting’s final protocol recommends that Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan should resume cooperation in this direction,” the source noted, adding that Turkmenistan seconded the proposal and “is ready to connect its power system to the parallel operation at any time.”
“Today the only problem is that Uzbekistan has dismantled the 500 kV power transmission line from the Guzar substation in its territory to the Regar substation in Tajikistan,” he noted.
We will recall that Uzbekistan officially left the Soviet-era regional power grid that united the country with its three Central Asian neighbors in December 2009. The move left Tajikistan facing severe electricity shortages during the winter months. Tajikistan does not share a common border with Turkmenistan, and Tashkent’s withdrawal from the regional grid also cut off Tajikistan from its vital electricity supplier.
Tajik authorities that time criticized Uzbekistan’s decision as an effort to put pressure on neighbors.
The World Bank’s report
Tajikistan Overview
notes that meeting Tajikistan’s energy demand will be important as part of the agenda to reduce poverty and create an enabling environment for private businesses. Approximately 70 percent of the population suffers from extensive electricity shortages during winter. The shortages increased considerably starting in 2009, when Tajikistan’s power network was severed from the Central Asia Power System and power trade with Central Asian countries stopped. Electricity shortages in winter are estimated to be at least 2,000 gigawatt-hours, or about 20 percent of winter electricity demand.
