The Ministry of Energy and Water (MoEW) said that Afghanistan owes more than $100 million for electricity imported from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Akhtar Mohammad Nusrat, a spokesman for the ministry, said that banks in Central Asian countries, especially Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, were now having difficulty transferring money, which has prevented Breshna’s debts from being paid.
According to Nusrat, the Ministry of Energy and Water is attempting to pay for electricity. “Uzbekistan has its own problems, we want to pay, but the problem is in the banks,” Akhtar Mohammad Nusrat said.
Meanwhile, Amanullah Ghalib, the former head of Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), said that Afghanistan pays about $300 million a year to Central Asian countries, especially Uzbekistan, to buy electricity.
“Afghanistan buys most of its electricity from Uzbekistan. It is about 108 million dollars a year. The problem now is the payment of the bills,” he said, adding that the Ukraine war has complicated the banking process for neighboring countries.
Kabul residents say Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat should invest more in domestic electricity. “Electricity is one of the basic necessities of the people, governments are obliged to provide electricity. Despite abundant water resources, it is itself a major problem for the government to import electricity from Uzbekistan,” said Noor Agha, a resident of Kabul.
Previously, the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said that Afghanistan imported more than 80 percent of its electricity from neighboring countries and that if those countries cut off their electricity, the homes of more than ten million Afghans would go dark.—Tolo News
