KABUL – Widespread power outages have continued for a fourth consecutive day across Afghanistan’s 11 provinces, including the capital Kabul, after imported electricity from Uzbekistan was disrupted late last week, the Taliban-run Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) said Monday.
The state power company said a main transmission line carrying imported electricity from Uzbekistan was severed along the Amu River, complicating the repair process due to difficult terrain and security concerns in the area.
DABS engineers have been working for three days to restore the connection, but electricity had not yet been reconnected by Monday evening despite earlier assurances that supply would resume by noon.
Residents in Kabul and several northern provinces reported that they remained without power, relying on generators or solar panels for essential needs.
“There’s been no electricity for days. Businesses can’t operate, and families are struggling with water pumps and heating systems,” said a resident in Kabul’s Dasht-e-Barchi neighborhood.
The prolonged blackout has disrupted daily life and commercial activity across the country. Markets, hospitals, and schools have faced significant challenges, particularly in Kabul, where electricity is essential for water distribution and communications infrastructure.
Afghanistan relies heavily on imported electricity to meet domestic demand, purchasing about 80 percent of its power from neighboring countries, mainly Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Iran. Uzbekistan alone supplies nearly half of Afghanistan’s imported power, transmitted through high-voltage lines into northern provinces before distribution to the rest of the country.
Domestic power generation remains limited, largely confined to small hydroelectric plants and a few thermal and solar projects that cannot meet the growing demand. Years of conflict, underinvestment, and a lack of technical expertise have left the country’s power infrastructure fragile and vulnerable to damage.
Repeated disruptions in imported electricity have become common since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, as regional supply contracts have faced financial and technical complications. Payment delays and grid instability in neighboring countries have also contributed to intermittent blackouts.
As of late Monday, DABS said repairs were still underway but did not specify when full power restoration could be expected.
