DUSHANBE, October 22, 2008, Asia-Plus -- Turkmen electricity will be supplied to Tajikistan in autumn-winter 2008-2009 starting from November 1, Energy and Industries Minister Gul Sherali announced at a press conference in Dushanbe today.  

According to him, an agreement on transit of Turkmen electrical power to Tajikistan via Uzbek power systems was reached in Almaty, Kazakhstan last Saturday.

“The Uzbek side assured us that repairs to the power transmission line linking Tajik and Turkmen power systems are nearing completion and it will be ready by November,” the minister said.  

According to the head of Barqi Tojik (Tajik electric systems) power holding, Sharifkhon Samiyev, 400 million kWh of Turkmen electricity are expected to come to Tajikistan from November 1 to December 31 at the price of 3 cents per 1 kWh. 

He added that beginning on October 22, they would start cutting off electricity supplies to the most incorrigible nonpayers.  These measures will concern both residential customers and industrial enterprises, the Barqi Tojik top manager said.         

“Residential customers now owe 174 million somoni to Barqi Tojik” said Samiyev, “As far as the enterprises and organizations are concerned, electricity debts of the Ministry of Water Resources and Land Reclamation (MWRLR) alone amount to some 100 million somoni.”

The Barqi Tojik head noted that industrial enterprises that do not have electricity debts currently receive electricity supplies regularly.  

We will recall that under an agreement signed between Tajikistan and Turkmenistan in 2007, Turkmenistan will annually supply 1.2 billion kWh of electrical power to Tajikistan in autumn-winter season from 2007 to 2012.