Tajik officials have retracted their earlier statements about improving energy conditions in the country. They have now confirmed that electricity rationing will start a month earlier than usual this year.
For the past 30 years, electricity rationing has become a common practice in Tajikistan, a country once part of the Soviet Union. This rationing typically begins in late October or early November. However, the Barqi Tojik state energy company announced on September 22 that rationing will start early due to “the upcoming longer and more severe winter.”
The company explained that water shortages at hydroelectric power plants and a growing population are worsening the energy situation. In June, Energy Minister Daler Juma urged citizens to prepare early by securing coal supplies for the winter.
Following Barqi Tojik’s announcement on September 21, many residents of Dushanbe and other cities expressed their frustration online. They complained about blackouts and criticized the government for failing to fulfill its long-standing promise to address electricity shortages in autumn and winter.
In August, Barqi Tojik stated that the usual annual electricity rationing, which lasts six to seven months from autumn to spring, would only end once the Roghun hydroelectric plant is completed.
Construction on the Roghun plant began in October 2016, shortly after the death of Islam Karimov, the former president of Uzbekistan. Karimov had opposed the project for years, arguing that the dam would reduce water supply to Uzbekistan’s cotton fields.
In November 2018, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon inaugurated the first of the six planned turbines at Roghun, claiming that “very soon we will all forget about energy rationing.”
Tajik authorities announced that the $3.9 billion project on the Vakhsh River would make the country self-sufficient in electricity and enable it to export power to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan.
Despite ongoing energy shortages, Tajiks have voiced their dissatisfaction as the country continues to export electricity. Officials reported that Tajikistan exported 715 million kilowatt-hours, earning over $27 million in the first half of 2024.
Last winter marked the first time that electricity rationing was implemented in Dushanbe.
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