DUSHANBE, November 2, Asia-Plus – Beginning from the next year, electricity rate residential customers will rise, Asia-Plus has learned at the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MoEDT).
The source at a MoEDT said international financial institutions and countries investing in the country’s energy sector demands gradual price increases till 2010.
According to the Ministry of Energy and Industries (MoEI), a special commission has been formed this year to supervise gradual price increases. The MoEI specialists say if Tajikistan fails to raise rates gradually, it won”t be possible to recoup the investments it is currently making to build hydroelectric stations and power lines. According to them, the average price of one kilowatt-hour of electricity should reach 7 dirams (2 cents) by 2010.
We will recall that the government approve a 25 percent increase in the price of electricity for residential customers. For monthly usage up to 250 kilowatt-hours, the price of a single kilowatt-hour rose from 1.6 to 2 dirams, and from 2.7 to 3.4 dirams per kilowatt-hour for monthly usage in excess of 250 kilowatt-hours. Barqi Tojik specialists noted that the price hikes had come in response to recommendations from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in order to make the country”s hydroelectric power sector more attractive to investors.
However, Barqi Tojik says electricity rate for residential customers (0.65 cent) in Tajikistan remains the lowest within the CIS area.
