DUSHANBE (Aisa-Plus) — Tajikistan’s national power utility company — Barqi Tojik — attributes existing electricity supply problems in rural areas to low rate of bill payment from residential customers. It calls on intelligentsia to educate the population on issues of payment for electricity.

Population electricity debts have reportedly neared 1 bln somoni (≈ $106 mln). “During winter, residential customers were provided with electricity regularly, but many of them have not paid for electricity”, says a statement released by Barqi Tojik.

Currently, only residential customers in Dushanbe as well as large cities and the majority of districts of the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) have electricity regularly.

Barqi Tojik notes that regular supply of electricity requires large spending. According to the statement, there are more than 60,800 km of power transmission lines and more than 18,600 transformers operating in the country, meanwhile only 13,000 people now work with Barqi Tojik. “Under such conditions, it is very hard to ensure regular supply of electricity,” the statement notes.

The power utility company has also attributed the electricity problems to low water levels at the reservoir powering the Nurek hydropower plant.

In GBAO, Tajikistan’s only private power company, Pamir Energy Company (Pamir Energy), operates. This company is responsible for electricity deliveries in the region and the majority of districts in Gorno Badakhshan now have regular power supply.