DUSHANBE, February 11, Asia-Plus  -- Turkmenistan has nearly halved electricity supplies to Tajikistan.

According to the Ministry of Energy and Industries (MoI), since Sunday, Turkmenistan has supplied electrical power to Tajikistan at the rate of 3.5 million kWh per day instead of the previous 6.6 million kWh.  

The source at a MoEI noted that Turkmenistan has reduced electricity supplies because cold weather has led to a higher demand for power in Turkmenistan itself. 

Central Asia has for several weeks been experiencing unusually cold weather that has increased domestic electricity consumption across the region and led to widespread power outages across Tajikistan.  

Turkmenistan is supposed to supply totaling 1.2 billion kWh of electricity to Tajikistan in autumn-winter 2007-2008.        

In the meantime, the Norak hydroelectric power station (HPS) has reduced generation of daily electrical power from 40 million kWh to 20-22 million kWh.  According to the source, the reduction has resulted from a decline in the water levels in the Norak reservoir.          

According to the MoEI, Uzbekistan has not yet resumed electricity supplies to Tajikistan.