Kulob region (Eastern Khatlon) of Khatlon province has owed a huge amount for electricity to date. Local authorities claim that state-run institutions that ultimately become debtors simply receive an inadequate budget from Dushanbe. But that is not the only reason.
Bahrom Hikmatzoda, the head of the branch of the Joint-Stock Company Electrical Distribution Grids in the Kulob region said still at the beginning of summer that the Kulob region now owes 391,536,000 somonis, including 232,415,000 somonis owed by residential customers.
According to data from OJSC Electrical Distribution Grids, the total electricity debt has amounted to 3.2 billion somonis as of July 1, 2023. Thus, Kulob region’s electricity debt has accounted for 12.5 percent of the country’s total electricity debt.
OJSC Electrical Distribution Grids says total population’s electricity debt has amounted to 1.5 billion somonis as of July 1, 2023. Thus, the electricity debt of the population of the Kulob region has accounted for 15.5 percent of the total population’s electricity debt.
The commercial manager of the electrical distribution grid in Khovaling district, Navrouz Qurbonov, said in an interview with Asia-Plus that electricity debts of federally funded institutions in the district have increased.
“The reason is that the population is growing, and with it the number of federally funded institutions is increasing,” said Qurbonov.
The commercial manager of the electrical distribution grid in the city of Kulob, Bahrom Mirzoyev, also noted that the federally funded institutions’ electricity debts have increased.
“The reason is that the federally funded institutions indicate in their electricity bills the amount of 3,000 somonis for yearly consumption of the electricity, while actually they consume electricity for more than 6,000 somonis,” Mirzoyev noted.
Local experts noted that the federally funded institutions in the Kulob region hope for debt relief.
