DUSHANBE, October 2, Asia-Plus – Nozirjon Yodgori, a spokesman for Barqi Tojik (Tajik electric systems) power holding, today morning announced new measures rationing electricity supplies in the country.
According to him, the measures were introduced in all regions except the capital Dushanbe and seek to curb the country’s rising electricity consumption.
The rationing has been effective since October 1 and will last through April 2007, the spokesman said. The rationing has resulted in the supply of daily electrical power being reduced to eleven hours – five years in the morning (from 3:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.) and six hours in the evening (from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.).
The spokesman further added that electrical power will be supplied to the regions, cities, and districts in accordance with schedule, which has been approved by Prime Minister Oqil Oqilov.
In addition to curbing rising consumption, the move also stems from a shortage of electricity and insufficient water reserves, the spokesman said.
We will recall that Nozirjon Yodgori said in an interview with Asia-Plus on September 17 that on September 17, at 4:00 a.m., water levels at the reservoir powering the Norak hydroelectric power station (HPS) reached the target technical point — 910 meter above sea level. According to him, they are usually tasked to impound the reservoir to this level by September 20, while this year, the task has had already been performed by September 17. The Norak HPS accounts for 70 percent (12 billion kWh) of the total volume of electricity (17 billion kWh) generated in Tajikistan per year.
Tajikistan experienced an acute shortage of electricity last winter and early spring. Even Dushanbe experienced limits on electricity usage in connection with low water levels at the Norak power station, and energy deliveries were cut in some Dushanbe residential district last winter because water levels at the Norak reservoir had fallen to critical levels because mountain snow had not yet melted and because Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan had not been able to supply electricity to make up the deficit because unusually cold weather had led to a higher demand for power in those countries.
