Tajikistan will increase the volume of electricity being supplied to Afghanistan during the summer period. Tajikistan also intends to raise the price for electricity being delivered to Afghanistan by 3 percent.
“Tajikistan plans to increase power supply to Afghanistan this year by 200 million kWh. Besides the price for electricity being supplied to the neighboring country will rise 3 percent,” Mahmadumar Asozoda, the first deputy head of Barqi Tojik (Tajikistan’s national integrated power company), told reporters in Dushanbe on February 14.
According to him, Barqi Tojik and Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) have signed an additional agreement to a long-term contract on the delivery of Tajik electricity to Afghanistan.
Under this agreement Tajikistan will increase the supply of electric power to Afghanistan this year to 1.5 billion kWh.
He stressed that one of terms of the agreement signed in the zero years for the period up to 2029 provides for an annual 3 percent increase in the price for Tajik electricity being supplied to Afghanistan.
“Accordingly, the price of one kWh of Tajik electricity being supplied to Afghanistan this year will be 4.11 cents,” Asozoda added.
Tajikistan supplies surplus electricity to Afghanistan during the summer period.
Tajikistan has sufficient summer-time (defined as May 1 to September 30) hydropower surpluses to export to the neighboring countries.
Last year, Tajikistan supplied electricity to Afghanistan at the rate of 4 cents (equivalent to little more than 35 dirams) per 1 kWh.
Electricity exports to Afghanistan in 2017 came in at 1.3 billion kWh, netting Tajikistan around 50 million U.S. dollars.
Currently, Tajikistan is supplying electricity to Afghan Kunduz province in small volumes in order to keep safety of power transmission lines.
The Minister of Energy and Water Resources Usmonali Usmonzoda told reporters in Dushanbe on January 30 that if the power transmission lines are not under voltage there will be probability of theft of wires.
