DUSHANBE, March 15, Asia-Plus – The water level in the reservoir powering the Norak hydroelectric power station (HPS) is continuing to decline.
“To date, the water level in the Norak reservoir has dropped 1.4 meters below the critical mark and made 855.63 meters above sea level,” Nodirjon Yodgori, a spokesman for Barqi Tojik (Tajik electric systems) power holding, said.
He said that under the instruction for use of the Norak dam, it is prohibited to use the reservoir for powering the station if the water level in the reservoir drops below the mark of 857 meters above sea level because it may cause damage to the station.
According to him, Tajikistan now receives electricity supplies from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan at the rate of 5.7 million kWh and 1.8 kWh per day respectively. “The public’s daily requirements in electrical power amount to 20 million-25 million kWh,“ said the spokesman, “The Norak station now generates some 25 million kWh of electricity per day, while it usually generated 40 million kWh of electrical power in this season.” ”
Yodgori added that although the accident at the 500kV power-transmission line providing electricity supplies from Uzbekistan had been partially removed, repairs to the line are still ongoing. We will recall that the power disruption occurred at two switching stations Regar and Guzar, which supply Tajikistan with electrical power transited from neighboring Uzbekistan.
According to the Dushanbe electricity-distributing service, strict electricity supplies limitations in some areas of the capital city are still effective. Electricity rationing introduced in these areas is also still effective and therefore these areas of Dushanbe currently receive electricity supplies only eight hours per day: three in the morning (from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m.) and five hours in the evening (from 5:00 p.m. to 10 p.m.).
In the meantime experts from Central Asia’s states have gathered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, to discuss ways out of energy crisis that hit the region.
