Tajikistan has been experiencing electricity shortages for several years; however, this winter the most severe energy crisis hit, with disastrous effects on the population. Most regions in the country were supplied with electricity for only several hours per day, whereas rural areas did not have electricity at all. This year’s power outages reached even Dushanbe, the capital of the country, where the supply of energy was limited to only eight hours instead of the usual seventeen. Although the government took some steps to resolve the situation, most hopes for light and heat in the next winter season come from the bottom up – from the initiative and creativity of the local population.

While about 95 percent of Tajikistan’s electricity generating capacity is hydroelectric, only an estimated 5 percent of Tajikistan’s hydroelectric potential, most of it based on the Vakhsh River, is in use. For several years now, the completion of new dams has suffered long delays, and the immense scale of the energy crisis means that the lives of impoverished people have become unbearable. “Spending long winter evenings and nights with a single kerosene lamp, without either electric power or natural gas, cannot be repeated in the coming winter, there should be other ways to deal with problem,” said one of the residents of Khujand, the second biggest city in Tajikistan. He also added that his children could not do their homework properly, so as to be successful in school.

Tajikistan experiences deficits of electric power every winter, when the level of water in the big hydroelectric stations is low. However, the deficit of electric energy this year came to a peak. Today, 85 percent of electricity consumed in the Sogd region, the northern part of the country, is obtained through barter with Uzbekistan. Ironically, although Tajikistan has the potential to become a leader in the production of hydropower, it purchases electricity from the neighboring countries of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan at international rates, often causing tensions between the countries.

This winter, repeated negotiations with Uzbekistan ended in failure. Power-desperate Tajikistan asked Uzbekistan to sell large amounts of electric power, but the Uzbeks refused to deliver such large quantities, claiming that they did not have the necessary technical infrastructure. The cold winter is another important reason for Uzbekistan’s refusal to sell energy.

While Spring showed some promise to alleviate the situation, in reality, the energy crisis deepened further. Nurek, the main hydroelectric station, could not function at full capacity, because the water level in the reservoir went down during Spring to a critical level. In this situation, operating the plant when the water is too low can damage the station and lead to exigent conditions and even a breakdown of the hydroelectric station. In addition, there had been cuts in the transit power line known as LEP-500 that delivers electricity to Tajikistan from Uzbekistan.

Several steps have been taken by the Tajik government, particularly “Barki Tojik”, the Tajik state electricity provider, to resolve the situation and avoid a similar situation next winter. There is a LEP (power line) that extends to a length of approximately 370 km and connects the Marry Hydroelectric station in  Turkmenistan with Uzbekistan’s Karikul station. Tajikistan was long able to purchase electricity via this LEP, however since 2002 the LEP had become dysfunctional.  In addition, on March 1, Uzbekistan denied Tajikistan the provision of transit electricity from Turkmenistan.

In late March, an agreement was reached between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to restore a regional power grid that goes across Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.  According to Alexei Silantiev, vice chairman of “Barki Tojik”, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan finally reached an agreement during subsequent negotiations providing that until September 2007, the LEP as well as other energy systems of Uzbekistan will be restored and ready to transport energy. Although Turkmen authorities were not present during this meeting, they had agreed during prior agreements to export 1 billion kilowatt hours of electricity per year to Tajikistan in the coming winter season.  Whether promises to restore all necessary equipment will be fulfilled without delays in order to ensure that the new winter season will be warm, remains an open question.

Whereas government initiatives to resolve existing problems are not guaranteed, the local population, both tired and skeptical, is trying independently to find alternative solutions for electricity and to cope with regular shortages of gas. There have been several successful undertakings by private individuals to build small hydroelectric plants to provide electricity that can keep TVs, heating, and electric ovens running even during the regular outages. In the Sogd region, for example Lukmon Ahmedov built a small hydroelectric power station from used tractor parts, giving power to the whole village, including a school and hospital. The same happened in the settlement of Zargar, which is located not far from the Vahdat city biogas plant, that provides not only natural gas, but is also often used to produce electricity. Also, traditional methods of heating such as “sandali” became widespread not only in the village areas of Tajikistan, but also in cities. “Sandali” means a low metal box or a hole made in the floor, filled with hot coals, over which a table top is placed.  A thin quilt is then placed over the table top, at which people sit (on the ground) and covering themselves with a blanket. The construction heats only one room, where members of the family often both sleep and eat.

In Tajikistan, the majority of the population lives in rural areas where there is significant potential for developing renewable resources such as sun, wind, biogas, and hydroelectric power. So far, it seems that the major undertakings of the government to resolve the energy crisis have been associated with delays or failure: the sources of hope for the future come instead from the initiatives of the local population. In western countries, such local undertakings to use environmentally friendly renewable resources are appreciated and supported by the government. In Tajikistan, this development seems to take place independently of any national environmental planning consciousness. It is fueled, rather, by desperation and by the basic need for warmth and light in winter.