DUSHANBE, August 12, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- Tajik and Russian energy officials are currently specifying the amount of debt of Tajik power holding Barqi Tojik to open joint-stock company (OJSC) Sangtudinskaya GES-1 for electricity consumed in 2008-2009.

According to Barqi Tojik, under the government-to-government agreement between Tajikistan and Russia on cooperation on operation of the hydroelectric power plant (HPP) Sangtuda-1, which was signed in Dushanbe on July 31, 2009, this year, Tajikistan will purchase electricity generated by the Russian-built hydroelectricity power plant (HPP) Sangtuda-1 for internal needs at the rate of US$0.0169 per one kWh (VAT not included).

In the beginning of this year, the Sangtudinskaya GES-1 administration noted that beginning on January 1, 2009 Tajikistan should pay for the Sangtuda-1 electricity at the rate of 3.1 cents per one kWh, while in 2008, the price of one kWh of the Sangtuda-1 electricity for Tajikistan was 1.14 cents.  In late May, the Sangtudinskaya GES-1 released information that Barqi Tojik now owes 18 million U.S. dollars to it.

“We are currently making a fresh account of our debt to Sangtudnskaya GES-1,” said the source at Barqi Tojik, “The debt is debt we should settle it.”