In a press conference in Kabul on Sunday, Taliban officials announced that Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) has procured electricity valued at US$299 million over the course of the past year.
The head and Commercial Director of DABS, Mawlawi Abdul Rahman Rahmani, added that Tajikistan accounted for $96 million, Uzbekistan $94 million, Iran $62 million, and Turkmenistan $47 million in imported electricity during this period. Additionally, domestic private companies supplied electricity worth $22.3 million.
The head of DABS further said that Afghanistan has “almost” cleared its outstanding electricity payments to the exporting countries. “Presently, there are no issues between DABS and the countries involved in the supply of electricity to Afghanistan,” he said.
To strengthen the country’s energy sector, Mawlawi Rahmani highlighted the company’s “five-year strategic plan” focused on the production of renewable electricity within Afghanistan.
Landlocked Afghanistan imports more than 75 percent of the electricity it needs from Uzbekistan and neighboring Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Iran. But the supply of surplus hydroelectric power from these countries is unreliable. Rising domestic demand and falling production force them to cut the electricity supply to Afghanistan during winters.
The country continues to grapple with electricity shortages and rationing, particularly during the summer and winter seasons, presenting a major challenge for residents of Kabul and several other major cities across the country.
