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On Wednesday, Afghanistan’s official power company, Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat, reported multiple power outages in Kabul and many other provinces after electricity supplies from Uzbekistan was cut off due to “technical problems,” according to the Sputnik news agency (DABS). The development comes only days after the Afghan capital was thrown into darkness in a similar fashion, amid accusations that the country’s new Taliban rulers had failed to pay Central Asian electrical suppliers or re-establish the structure for collecting money from users.
According to Sputnik, citing DABS, technical challenges arose in Baghlan, Afghanistan’s northern region. The message read, “The technical staff is attempting to rectify this issue as quickly as possible.”
What is causing Afghanistan’s electrical supplies to dwindle?
According to reports, the newly installed Taliban rulers are having trouble paying their electrical bills to Central Asian power providers.
Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan provide over 80% of Afghanistan’s total electricity consumption. When the Taliban grabbed Kabul from the former Ashraf Ghani government in a lightning-fast offensive, they took over the state energy utility, as well as all of its obligations. Due to a lack of funding and a structure for collecting money from consumers, the new rulers have been unable to pay off the creditors.
What are the Taliban’s plans for repaying the debt?
Afghanistan’s energy agency, which is now controlled by the Taliban, is apparently planning to dispose off the estates of its debtors in order to pay the almost $62 million in power bills owed to Central Asian countries. The plan will be implemented, all debts will be paid off to avoid electricity exporting countries from cutting off the supply, and only then will Afghanistan have an uninterrupted power connection, according to Safiullah Ahamdzai, the acting chairman of DABAS.
However, Daud Noorzai, a former head of DABS, claimed earlier this month that if the Taliban do not carry out the ‘plan’ and do not pay their bills to Central Asian energy providers, Kabul’s electricity supply could be cut off by the winter.
