DUSHANBE, February 6, 2014, Asia-Plus -- Electricity rates will not change in the coming months, Nozir Yodgori, a spokesman for Barqi Tojik (the state-owned utility responsible for generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity in Tajikistan), announced at a news conference in Dushanbe on February 6.

“Even if electricity prices are raised, they will be raised slightly,” Yodgori noted.

Barqi Tojik officials refrained from making detailed comments on the electricity price issues, saying that Barqi Tojik is an electricity supplier while prices are set by the Antimonopoly Agency.

“We have not yet received any instruction from the government to raise electricity prices,” Barqi Tojik deputy head Davron Davlataliyev said.

According to Barqi Tojik, current average price for one kWh of electricity in Tajikistan is 1.83 cents, which is reportedly the lowest electricity rate within the CIS area.

We will recall that Tajik Minister of Energy and Water Resources Usmonali Usmonov told journalists on January 30 that a special government commission is currently considering the issue of raising electricity prices.  Electricity prices will be raised during this year, the minister said, noting that they are going to raise rates “because workers of the country’s power system have not received wages for months.”  Besides, Barqi Tojik has huge debts and it is necessary to improve its financial and economic activity somehow, Usmonov added.

For the last time, Tajikistan raised electricity prices in April 2012. 

Current electricity prices of one kWh of electricity are 11 dirams for residential customers, 26.63 dirams for industrial and non-industrial enterprises, 10.63 dirams for federally funded institutions, electrical transport, public utilities and sports complexes, and 1.88 dirams for reclamation vertical wells and water pumping stations.