UZBEKISTAN AND AFGHANISTAN AGREE ON 2009 ELECTRICITY PRICE

UNCLAS TASHKENT 000051 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SBU DELIBERATIVE PROCESS DEPT FOR SCA/FO BOB DEUTSCH DEPT FOR SCA/CEN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECIN ECON ENRG KPWR UZ AF SUBJECT: UZBEKISTAN AND AFGHANISTAN AGREE ON 2009 ELECTRICITY PRICE REF: a) TASHKENT 974, b) TASHKENT 1425 ¶1. (SBU) Afghan Charge d'Affairs Mohammad Essa Mesbah met with us on January 12 and gave us an upbeat assessment of Uzbek-Afghan talks on electricity pricing held last week between Afghan Minister of Economics Shams and Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Azimov. (Shams met separately to discuss technical issues with Deputy Prime Minister Shaismatov and Uzbekenergo Chairman Teshabaev.) The talks culminated in the January 6 signing of a new annual purchase agreement under which Afghanistan will buy 70 MW of electricity from Uzbekistan in 2009 for $0.06 USD per kWh. This price is unchanged from 2008, when Afghanistan purchased 35MW of Uzbek electricity. ¶2. (SBU) Charge Mesbah also told us that the first of two 220kV, 150MW power transmission lines from the Surkhan substation to the Afghan border (ref A) is nearly 80 percent built with completion expected within the next two months. Construction of the second transmission line has begun and is slated to be finished before the end of 2009. This is also the scheduled completion date for a new 240km, 500kV line between the Surkhan and Guzar substations in Uzbekistan that must be completed if Uzbekistan is to have sufficient capacity to supply 300MW of electrical power to Afghanistan (ref B). ¶3. (SBU) According to Charge Mesbah, Shams told the Uzbek side that Afghanistan wants to become a member of the Coordination Dispatch Center (CDC). Mesbah said the Uzbek response had been positive, although Afghanistan will need to submit a formal application that will have to be reviewed by Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan, the CDC's current four members. BUTCHER To view the entire SMART message, go to URL http://repository.state.sgov.gov/_layouts/OSS SearchResults.aspx?k=messageid:1af3cc1f-a7ab- 4e23-bd00-e9396b0386a8