Some time ago, President Emomali Rahmon instructed relevant agencies to approve and adhere to a schedule for electricity supply to the population.  Last month, he signed a decree obliging the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources and other agencies responsible for power supply to “organize and regulate the electricity supply schedule for the population.”

Following this, the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources announced that the Open Joint Stock Company (OJSC) Electricity Distribution Networks had developed a schedule.  According to it, electricity is supplied to households in rural areas for 10 hours daily: in the morning from 5:00 to 8:00 and in the evening from 16:00 to 23:00.

However, many residential customers in the country have taken to social media to complain that the electricity supply schedule—or the so-called “limit”—is not being followed.

"A complete lie"

Abdukarim Sherali from Panjakent in Sughd province called the claims about adhering to the electricity schedule "a complete lie."   "In the morning, electricity is provided from 5:00 to 7:30.  In the evening, it is turned on at 16:15, off at 17:15, then turned back on at 20:30, and shut off again at 23:00,” he wrote on Facebook.

Another social media user from the Sarazm jamoat, which is subordinate to the city of Panjakent, reported: "We receive electricity for 2 or 3 hours a day, and sometimes we don't get it at all."

A third user shared: "We live in a village.  Electricity is provided at 5:00 in the morning and shut off at 7:30.  In the evening, it comes on at 17:00, turns off several times, and then is completely cut off at 22:00."

"They promise 10 hours, but give half of that, and in newspapers and on TV, they urge people to conserve what doesn't even exist," commented Uzayrsharipov.

A resident from Khuroson district in Khatlon province wrote: "In the morning, electricity is supplied from 5:00 to 7:30 and in the evening from 17:00 to 22:00—that’s all we get."

"In Kulob, this problem also exists. Electricity is provided for 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the evening, as if people are already used to this situation," wrote a Telegram user in the Asia-Plus channel.

Export amid shortages

Despite the shortage of electricity within the country, Tajikistan continues to export electricity to Afghanistan and Uzbekistan annually. According to the Statistics Agency, electricity exports brought the country more than $102.4 million in revenue over the first 10 months of this year.

Tajikistan struggles with electricity rationing 30 years after independence, despite long-held dreams of becoming an energy export powerhouse.

Measures rationing electricity supplies are usually introduced in all regions of the country except Dushanbe, regional administrative centers and major cities of the country and they seek to curb the country's rising electricity consumption.  In addition to curbing rising consumption, the move also stems from a decline in the water level in the country's reservoirs powering the main hydroelectric power plants.