Afghanistan’s power distributor, Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), on Monday announced the signing of an electricity purchase agreement with Tajikistan for 2025.
According to a statement from DABS, the agreement was signed in Turkey by Abdul Bari Omar, the Taliban-appointed CEO of DABS, and Raisi Arsazada, the head of Barki Tojik, Tajikistan’s state electricity company.
While the deal secures electricity imports for the future, residents in Kabul are grappling with severe power outages as winter approaches. Many report having electricity for only four to six hours a day.
“The lack of sufficient electricity, combined with economic hardships, is creating serious challenges for us as we prepare for the winter,” said one Kabul resident.
Reliance on imported electricity
Afghanistan relies heavily on electricity imports from Central Asian countries, particularly Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, to meet its domestic energy needs. This dependency has persisted in recent years, exacerbated by growing internal demand and limited domestic power generation capacity.
Afghanistan requires approximately 6,000 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity annually, with around 86 percent of its energy imported from neighboring countries such as Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan, according to WorldData.
