Power Situation in Tajikistan Worsens

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 DUSHANBE 000121 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ENRG PREL EPET PGOV TI SUBJECT: Power Situation in Tajikistan Worsens ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Tajikistan's national electricity carrier announced January 27 that, effective that day, Dushanbe residents would receive only 15 hours of electricity per day. Power rationing is far worse outside of the capital, with some towns receiving as little as one or two hours of electricity a day and some rural areas reportedly receiving no power whatsoever. The electricity company placed the blame squarely on Uzbekistan's refusal to permit energy from Turkmenistan, with which Tajikistan concluded a deal last year, to transit Uzbek territory. Meanwhile, the Nurek Hydropower Station, which generates 75% of Tajikistan's domestic energy, only has enough water in its reservoir to provide electricity for another 15 days. Tajikistan's Deputy Prime Minister Murodali Alimardon has reportedly been dispatched to Tashkent in an attempt to free up the energy, but most Tajiks are pessimistic that his visit will achieve its goal. Some sources say the Uzbeks will not release energy until Nurek has been bled dry. End summary. Uzbekistan Refuses to Transmit Power; Rationing Starts in Dushanbe ¶2. (U) On January 27, Tajikistan's national electricity carrier Barqi Tojik announced that beginning that day, power would be limited to 15 hours a day in Dushanbe. In previous statements, the Tajik government had assured residents that power rationing would not be instituted in the capital, no matter how bad the situation got in the rest of the country. According to a company press release, however, the reduction in supply was necessitated by the Uzbek government's refusal, "above all, for political purposes," to allow energy into Tajikistan. Tajikistan had concluded an agreement to import 1.2 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy from Turkmenistan every winter through 2012, at a cost of 3 cents per kWh. Uzbekistan had agreed to transport the electricity through its grid for an additional fee of 0.3 cents per kWh. Although the first 400 million kWh was transmitted during November and December as planned, Uzbekistan has refused to allow the remaining power into Tajikistan. Uzbekistan has also refused to deliver an additional 600 million kWh this winter from its own plants, as provided for in a separate agreement, in exchange for 900 kWh from Tajikistan during the summer. ¶3. (SBU) Application of the power outages has been somewhat spotty so far. Many Embassy local staff, especially those living in outlying areas of Dushanbe, report that their power has been cut overnight as announced. Some Embassy-leased houses in the center of the city, however, have not experienced cuts, while others have. There are credible rumors that powerful people live on the streets where the power is left on. ¶4. (U) Without imported energy or rationing, the Nurek Hydroelectric Station, which generates three-quarters of Tajikistan's electricity, will lose the capacity to produce power within two weeks. The water level in the Nurek Reservoir currently stands at 863.38 m, less than 7 meters above the "dead point," at which the level is too low to drive the turbines. Without rationing in the capital, the reservoir is losing approximately 0.5 meters a day. (Current outflow is 440 cubic meters per second, somewhat replenished by inflow of 122 cubic meters per second.) ¶5. (U) According to Barqi Tojik, President Emomali Rahmon already decreed that energy to the country's largest single consumer, the Talco aluminum plant in Tursunzade, was to be reduced by 6.5 million kWh per day from the beginning of January. Although the Barqi Tojik QkWh per day from the beginning of January. Although the Barqi Tojik press releases says the plant is now operating at 30% of its capacity, this appears to be a typo, and Talco is likely operating at 70% of its capacity. Situation Far Worse Outside of Dushanbe ¶6. (SBU) As bad as things may be in the capital, they are considerably worse in the provinces. Although official government sources say that outlying areas are receiving three to four hours per day, according to embassy contacts some areas in the north -- for example, on the outskirts of Isfara -- are receiving no electricity at all. Without any power, residents without access to automobiles have been unable to charge their mobile phones -- for many, the only kind of phone available -- and are losing their connections to the outside world. Even in the regional capital of Khujand, which receives some power, the local cardiology center has stopped performing heart surgeries because its generator cannot adequately heat and illuminate the operating theater. Dozens of people requiring surgery have been forced to wait, for fear that they might contract pneumonia if operations are conducted in freezing temperatures. ¶7. (SBU) During Econoff's visit to the north last week, some power was being transmitted in the cities, although who received what and for how long appeared to be highly dependent on the recipient's location, the importance of his or her business, and -- most of all -- whether he had connections to local authorities. Some areas of the city, even in the very center, already receive as little as 1.5 DUSHANBE 00000121 002 OF 003 hours a day, while others have power for as long as five or six hours, according to Shoirahon Isomaddinova, who manages a chain of supermarkets in Khujand. Before the new year, residents had regularly received 8 or 9 hours per day. Isomaddinova said the minimal power supply made it particularly difficult to operate businesses in the food sector; while temperatures have been just a few degrees above freezing over the past week, unseasonably warm weather could ruin inventory. The limited power has also made it difficult for bakeries operating with electric ovens (some are powered by natural gas, the supply of which has been much steadier). ¶8. (U) The situation was worse in the smaller cities outside the regional capital. In Isfara, Konibodom, and Istaravshan, residents said they received only an hour or two of electricity in the morning and evening. The curator of the Konibodom city museum advised against visiting in the evening, because the museum's only light came from the sun. In offices, stores, and restaurants, people huddled in sweaters and jackets. For the most part buildings remained freezing even when the power was on, because a local ordinance forbade the use of electricity to run heaters. But, Through Connections, Some Manage ¶9. (SBU) Despite the rationing, a number of residents nevertheless found ways, some of them more legitimate than others, to keep the power running. In Isfara, the TajFruit dried fruit packing plant was receiving round-the-clock power. According to the director, Zafar Abdullojonov, local authorities deemed his plant, which is located within a bread production facility, a strategic enterprise and kept the electricity on. Despite this, the plant's overall production has declined by two-thirds because of reduced demand for dried fruit in Russia -- an effect, Abdullojonov said, of the world economic crisis. The packing machines now only operate two days a week, down from six previously. ¶10. (SBU) Likewise, in Konibodom, a computer training center operated by Musharaf Hasanova with support from different international donors, including the United States, received un-rationed power because of an exemption granted by the municipal government. (Perhaps not coincidentally, however, the power provider occupied the floor above her center.) As the sun set she was eager to turn the lights off in her office in order not to provoke the jealousy of her neighbors. Although the city power was ostensibly off during Econoff's discussion with Isomaddinova in Khujand, the lights in her supermarket remained on. She did not provide a direct response when asked how she had managed to keep the power on, noting only that the amount was so minimal it could only be used for lighting. Indeed, the cash registers in her supermarket were off, and there was no heat. Shorauf Shorahmatov, the head of an agricultural cooperative in the city of Istaravshan, was more direct, saying he owed his electricity to his brother, who had some influence through his work at the local telecom company. There were even a number of exceptions to the no-heating rule. A restaurant had no heat the first night Econoffs visited, some heat the second night, and rather comfortable heat the third night. ¶11. (SBU) The outages are also a problem in the southern parts of the country. The city of Kulob is getting only 2.5 hours of power per day, according to press reports. As the home region of President Rahmon, Kulob usually gets favored treatment. Gas Getting Through ¶12. (SBU) In contrast to the electricity situation, residents in all Q12. (SBU) In contrast to the electricity situation, residents in all four northern cities noted above reported having a constant and reliable supply of natural gas originating from Uzbekistan. The Soghd region extends like a peninsula separating Uzbekistan's Andijan region from the rest of the country, and Soviet-built gas lines connecting the two areas pass through it. Although Uzbekistan reportedly is constructing a longer pipeline through its own territory that skirts Soghd, for the moment it remains reliant on the Soviet-built system. Although residents were not entirely certain just how that gas made it from the pipeline to their houses -- or whether it was part of an official agreement or merely unofficial "leakage" -- they said the gas has made the difference for many people between having some power and having none at all. In the south, by contrast, gas supplies have been uneven in the wake of the Uzbek decision to hike prices from $145 to $240 per thousand cubic meters beginning January 1. Comment ¶13. (SBU) The failure of Uzbek authorities to allow Turkmen energy to reach Tajikistan lends some credence to the view that Tashkent wants to bleed Nurek dry, reducing Tajikistan to the position of an utter supplicant, before allowing any power through. While a few residents with connections have managed to circumvent rationing, the overwhelming majority of Tajiks are struggling with little or no DUSHANBE 00000121 003 OF 003 power, which cripples commerce and makes ordinary life difficult. That the lack of heating has not resulted in more serious problems is simply an accident of unseasonably warm weather. There is more winter ahead, however, and a plunge in temperatures could have severe consequences. End comment.