QURHGON TEPPA, December 6, 2012, Asia-Plus — Power rationing has been toughened in the Qurghon Teppa region [Vakhsh Valley] of Khatlon province.
“Residential customers in Vakhsh Valley now have electricity only five hours per day – 1½ hours in the morning (from 6:00 to 7:30) and 3 ½ hours in the evening (from 17:30 to 21:00),” Sharifkhon Isoyev, an engineer-in-chief with Southern Power Supply Network, told Asia-Plus in an interview.
According to him, electricity rating has been toughened following rising electricity consumption in the area.
“The amount of electricity distributed by Barqi Tojik [Tajik Electricity] power holding to our region is not enough to meet the region’s requirements in electricity, and therefore, we are forced to toughen the power rationing introduced in the area in October,” said Isoyev. “In November, we had electricity nine hours per day.”
He added that electricity consumption has risen because heating system does not work in the region.
We will recall that this year, electricity rationing was introduced in rural areas of Tajikistan in October. The rationing, which went into effect on October 7, resulted in the supply of daily electrical power in rural areas being reduced to fourteen hours – six hours in the morning (from 4:00 am to 10:00 am) and eight hours in the evening (from 16:00 pm to 24:00). Later, it has been toughened
Electricity rationing has not affected cities and district administrative centers, the spokesman said.
Measures rationing electricity supplies are usually introduced in all regions except Dushanbe and seek to curb the country”s rising electricity consumption. The rationing is introduced in October or November and lasts through March or April next year. The rationing results in the supply of daily electrical power being reduced to 12 or 10 hours. In addition to curbing rising consumption, the move also stems from a decline in the water level in the country”s reservoirs powering the main hydroelectric power plants.
