DUSHANBE, December 4, Asia-Plus — Turkmen electricity has arrived in Tajikistan, but still in small volume – 2.5-2.7 million kWh per day, Asia-Plus has learned at the Ministry of energy and Industries (MoEI).
The source at a MoEI said that Uzbekistan had completed repairs to a 500-kilovolt power grid linking Turkmen Serdar power station to Uzbek Qaragul power station in its territory. The grid had not been in operation for several years. Electricity supplies via this power grid to Tajikistan started on November 30, and 6.9 million kWh of Turkmen electricity has arrived in Tajikistan since that time, the source said.
In the meantime, supply of Turkmen electricity to Tajikistan began on November 18 already. Since the 500-kilovolt power grid was under repairs, Turkmen electrical power was being supplied to Tajikistan via a 220-kilovolt power transmission line from Turkmenistan’s Chorjou to Tajikistan through Uzbek power system. Over several days, Tajikistan had received 19.3 million kWh of electricity via the 220-kilovolt line.
According to Barqi Tojik (Tajik electric systems) power holding, Tajikistan plans to receive 350 million kWh of Turkmen electricity this month.
The source said that the full volume of Turkmen electricity has been purchased by Tajik aluminum group TALCO for its needs. TALCO’s daily requirements in electricity are 20 million kWh. “A 1-hour increase in limited electricity supplies to the provinces has been provided due to production saving,” the Barqi Tojik source said.
We will recall during a meeting in Dushanbe in early October, Tajik and Turkmen presidents announced that Tajikistan was going to import electricity from Turkmenistan during the winter months. Tajik President Emomali Rahmon said that Ashgabat, Dushanbe, and Tashkent had reached an agreement to deliver electricity from Turkmenistan to Tajikistan through neighboring Uzbekistan.
To solve its winter energy crisis Tajikistan has to import electricity from neighboring countries. Tajikistan depends on Uzbekistan for much of its access to the outside world and import and transit of electrical power during winter months. The source at Barqi Tojik said that Uzbek electricity will begin arriving in Tajikistan starting from January. Uzbekistan is supposed to supply 600 million kWh of electricity to Tajikistan this winter.
Tajik hydropower stations annually generate totaling 17 billion kWh of electricity, while Tajikistan’s annual requirements in electrical power are some 24 billion kWh.
