Asia-Plus has already written that residents of different regions of the country are complaining about non-compliance with the promised power supply schedule during the holy month of Ramadan.
Now we tried to clarify the situation by contacting the relevant city and regional bodies. But that was not the case – it was impossible to reach them by phone.
Asia-Plus’s reporters have tried to contact power grid representatives for two days, but to no avail. They have called the electricity departments of cities of Tursunzoda and Panajakent as well as Khatlon province, but the calls were not answered.
We were able to talk to an employee of the Khujand electricity supply network
He refrained from explaining the reason for non-compliance with the power supply schedule, but claimed that residential customers in Khujand have electricity eight hours per days: four hours in the morning (from 4:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.) and four hours in the evening (from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.).
Meanwhile, Khujand residents say they now have electricity not more than 6 hours per day.
Recall, Director-General of the Open Joint-Stock Company (OJSC) Shabakahoi Taqsimoti Barq (Electricity Distribution Networks), Mr. Arvind Gujral, has sent an urgent telegram to heads of the company’s subsidiaries in the regions. The telegram, in particular, says that on the occasion of the arrival of the holy month of Ramadan on March 11, electricity will be supplied to residential customers eight hours per day
A note sent by the power distribution company via mobile phones earlier this week stated that electricity will be available from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. and from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. local time.
However, in some rural areas, electricity is still provided not more than five or six hours per day.
In Dushanbe, street lighting is now not turned on at night.
Dushanbe residents have recently complained about electricity outages. The outages were reportedly imposed due to a decrease in the water levels of rivers feeding into the Nurek hydropower plant, causing a reduction in energy output.
Meanwhile, rural areas of the country accept lengthy power outages as a routine.
Measures rationing electricity supplies are usually introduced in all regions except Dushanbe, the GBAO and regional administrative centers and they seek to curb the country's rising electricity consumption. The rationing results in the supply of daily electrical power being reduced to 10 or 12 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.
This time, power rationing was introduced in Tajikistan on September 26, 2023.
