Kabul Faces Energy Crisis as Taliban Fails to Pay Suppliers
Oct 6, 2021 16:45:20 GMT -5
Post by shalom on Oct 6, 2021 16:45:20 GMT -5
Kabul Faces Energy Crisis as Taliban Fails to Pay Central Asian Suppliers
GABRIELLE REYES4 Oct 20212,183
3:00
Afghanistan’s power supply may be cut off in the coming weeks if the Taliban fails to pay outstanding electricity bills due to the country’s main energy providers in Central Asia, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.
Afghanistan’s state-owned power company, Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), has not paid electricity bills issued by its top suppliers in Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan since the Taliban seized control of Kabul and DABS on August 15.
DABS liabilities have grown to more than $90 million since August 15 and continue rising, Safiullah Ahmadzai told the Journal. Ahmadzai previously served as DABS COO and later stayed on with the state monopoly after the Taliban took over the company. He acted as DABS CEO until October 3, when he was replaced by a Taliban cleric.
A picture taken on November 14, 2018 shows energy pillars of the Rogun hydro-electric dam, about 100 km northeast of the Tajik capital Dushanbe, on the Vakhsh River in southern Tajikistan. - Tajikistan on November 16, 2018 inaugurates the USD 3.9 billion hydro-electric power plant, a mega project that will enable the impoverished country to eliminate domestic energy shortages and export electricity to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Built on the Vakhsh River in southern Tajikistan, the plant championed by President Emomali Rakhmon is expected to reach a height of 335 metres (1,099 feet) in a decade, becoming the world's tallest hydro-electric dam. (AFP via Getty Images)
A picture taken on November 14, 2018, shows energy pillars of a hydroelectric dam in Tajikistan that exports electricity to Afghanistan and Pakistan. (AFP via Getty Images)
“Collection from customers, meanwhile, shrunk by 74 percent last month, with only $8.9 million in revenue since Aug. 15,” the newspaper noted on October 3, citing DABS officials.
“With government ministries not paying salaries for months and the banking system paralyzed, many Afghans don’t have the means to pay their power bills. Last year, customers in Kabul accounted for about half of DABS’s $387 million in total revenue,” the Journal revealed, citing company documents.
Ahmadzai estimated that DABS would require a $90 million infusion to “stave off a collapse.”
“Our neighboring states now have the right to cut our power, under the contract,” he admitted. “We are convincing them not to do that and that they will get paid.”
Continued at link
GABRIELLE REYES4 Oct 20212,183
3:00
Afghanistan’s power supply may be cut off in the coming weeks if the Taliban fails to pay outstanding electricity bills due to the country’s main energy providers in Central Asia, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.
Afghanistan’s state-owned power company, Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), has not paid electricity bills issued by its top suppliers in Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan since the Taliban seized control of Kabul and DABS on August 15.
DABS liabilities have grown to more than $90 million since August 15 and continue rising, Safiullah Ahmadzai told the Journal. Ahmadzai previously served as DABS COO and later stayed on with the state monopoly after the Taliban took over the company. He acted as DABS CEO until October 3, when he was replaced by a Taliban cleric.
A picture taken on November 14, 2018 shows energy pillars of the Rogun hydro-electric dam, about 100 km northeast of the Tajik capital Dushanbe, on the Vakhsh River in southern Tajikistan. - Tajikistan on November 16, 2018 inaugurates the USD 3.9 billion hydro-electric power plant, a mega project that will enable the impoverished country to eliminate domestic energy shortages and export electricity to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Built on the Vakhsh River in southern Tajikistan, the plant championed by President Emomali Rakhmon is expected to reach a height of 335 metres (1,099 feet) in a decade, becoming the world's tallest hydro-electric dam. (AFP via Getty Images)
A picture taken on November 14, 2018, shows energy pillars of a hydroelectric dam in Tajikistan that exports electricity to Afghanistan and Pakistan. (AFP via Getty Images)
“Collection from customers, meanwhile, shrunk by 74 percent last month, with only $8.9 million in revenue since Aug. 15,” the newspaper noted on October 3, citing DABS officials.
“With government ministries not paying salaries for months and the banking system paralyzed, many Afghans don’t have the means to pay their power bills. Last year, customers in Kabul accounted for about half of DABS’s $387 million in total revenue,” the Journal revealed, citing company documents.
Ahmadzai estimated that DABS would require a $90 million infusion to “stave off a collapse.”
“Our neighboring states now have the right to cut our power, under the contract,” he admitted. “We are convincing them not to do that and that they will get paid.”
Continued at link