Tajikistan Limits Power Due To Low Water At Hydroelectric Dam

DUSHANBE -- Tajikistan's national energy company Barqi Tojik says it will impose restrictions on the supply of electricity due to a dramatic drop in water levels in a reservoir used to generate hydroelectric power.

The Central Asian nation's government made the announcement on July 28, saying low water levels in the Nurek reservoir were caused by little snowfall in the mountains during the winter.

The government said the limit on electricity supply will aim at saving water in the reservoir, which is used by the Nurek hydropower station.

The water level in the reservoir is 17-meters lower compared to last year. Fifty percent less water is running in the Vakhsh and Panj rivers that feed into the reservoir.

“The process of climate change and global warming is going on rapidly on the planet, and its impact, especially this year on Tajikistan, has intensified,” the government said.

The statement said that, if low water levels continue, it may create problems providing electricity to the population and industrial facilities across the country in the autumn and winter.

It is not clear how much electricity will be cut off to people's homes. In the past, during the "limit" period, residents received only four or five hours of electricity per day.

The announcement comes a day after Afghanistan’s state electricity company said Tajikistan had reduced its export of electricity to the country by 90 percent.

Barqi Tojik said that it had cut off electricity exports to Uzbekistan since July 16.

Tajikistan, one of the poorest former Soviet republics, is heavily dependent on hydroelectric power and regularly experiences electricity outages.