DUSHANBE, April 28, 2009, Asia-Plus  - Barqi Tojik power holding is not authorized to punish those who do not want to replace incandescent lamps with energy-saving light lamps that are also known as compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), the Barqi Tojik deputy head Nourmahmad Kholnazarov said.

“However these people punish themselves, bearing financial losses,” said Kholnazarov, “We can just hope for consciousness of our consumers.”

We will recall that President Emomali Rahmon on April 24 signed a decree requiring nationwide shift to the energy-saving light bulbs beginning on May 1, 2009 and the government, local authorities, organizations and enterprises irrespective of forms of property are to provide switch to the energy-saving light bulbs by the end of this year.

In the meantime, organizations, enterprises and residential customers now owe totaling 308 million somoni to Barqi Tojik, Kholnazarov noted.  According to him, the most incorrigible nonpayers are the Ministry of Land Reclamation and Water Resources (93.1 million somoni) and Tajik Aluminum Company (some 90 million somoni).  The public electricity debts currently amount to 71.8 million somoni.