Residents of Afghanistan’s southern Kandahar province say persistent power outages are disrupting daily life and hurting economic and social activity, with electricity available for only a few hours a day in some areas and not at all in others.
People in the provincial capital said unreliable electricity had affected businesses, household routines and access to basic services, with frequent outages also damaging electrical appliances and machinery.
“We have serious electricity problems. Power comes and goes, and even when it is available it is not stable. This situation has damaged our equipment,” said Khalil Ahmad, a Kandahar resident.
Others said electricity was available for as little as one hour a day, and sometimes not even that.
“We ask the authorities to provide permanent electricity. Out of 24 hours, we barely get one hour of power, and even that is not consistent,” said Farid Ahmad, another resident.
Power shortages are not limited to Kandahar. Several other provinces, including the capital Kabul, have also experienced outages in recent days.
Afghanistan’s state electricity utility, Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), previously said heavy snowfall had damaged a 220-kilovolt transmission line carrying imported electricity from Uzbekistan between Pul-e-Khumri and Kabul, causing widespread disruptions.
Afghanistan relies heavily on imported electricity from neighbouring countries, and extreme weather, ageing infrastructure and limited investment have made the power supply vulnerable to frequent interruptions.
Residents said prolonged outages were adding to economic pressure at a time when many families are already struggling with unemployment and rising living costs.
