DUSHANBE, January 9, 2014, Asia-Plus — Generation of power in Tajikistan is currently stable and there are no any serious problems, Barqi Tojik (the state-owned utility responsible for generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity in Tajikistan) said, commenting on the issue of the Sangtuda-2 hydroelectric power plant (HPP) stoppage.
Nozir Yodgori, a spokesman for Barqi Tojik, says they are not well aware of the situation of the Sangtuda-2 HPP. “But we watch over the general situation of the country’s power system and there have been no disruption in power generation in recent days,” Yodgori said.
Thus, Barqi Tojik neither denied nor confirmed information about the Sangtuda-2 HPP stoppage.
Iran’s company, Sangab, which is responsible for construction and operation of the Sangtuda-2 HPP, has refrained from commenting on the issue. Mr. Sayed Asghari, head of Sangab’s office in Tajikistan, has just advised to apply to Barqi Tojik.
For his part, Nozir Yodgori has refrained from commenting on the issue of accrued debts of Barqi Tojik, which, according to the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources (MoEWR), now owes 133 million somoni (equivalent to 27.8 million U.S. dollars) to the Sangtuda-2 HPP.
“Sangtuda-2 is a separate enterprise and we do not have to answer for them,” the Barqi Tojik spokesman said. “The main thing is that there are no disruptions in power supply and the introduced electricity rationing is observed.”
As it had been reported earlier, Barqi Tojik now owes 133 million somoni to the Sangtuda-2 HPP. As of January 1, 2013, Tajik power holding reportedly owed only 12 million U.S. dollars to the power plant, built with the help of Iranian specialists.
The Sangtuda-2 HPP has reportedly demanded that Barqi Tojik gradually repay its debt, otherwise the power plant station will stop power generation.
“The Iranian side has agreed to set the schedule of gradual repayment of the debt and receive at least 3 million somoni per month,” an official source at a MoEWR told Asia-Plus in an interview.
Meanwhile Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service reported on January 8 that a high-ranking source at Iranian Embassy in Dushanbe says that the Sangtuda-2 HPP has stopped power generation for technical reasons, but the problem may be solved after Barqi Tojik starts repaying its debt.
We will recall that the first unit of the plant was introduced into operation on September 5, 2011. Tajik and Iranian presidents attended a joint ceremony to unveil the Sangtuda-2 dam and power plant. This 110 MW unit does not yet operate in full capacity.
Installation of the second 110 MW unit at the Sangtuda2 HPP was completed in May 2013 but launch of this generation has been postponed for unknown reasons.
Construction of Sangtuda-2, a 220-megawatt plant on the Vakhsh River, officially commenced in February 2006. It is located some 120 kilometers southeast of Dushanbe.
Iran, which has put some 180 million U.S. dollars into the construction of the hydropower station, will operate it for the next 12 years and then transfer control to Tajikistan, whose contribution to the construction costs amounted to around 40 million U.S. dollars.
The power plant is expected to help alleviate power shortages in Tajikistan during autumn-winter period.
