Ever since the Taliban took over Afghanistan, they’ve constantly been subjected to some of the other issues. The problem with electricity supply is not new and this time it is in Kabul. Last year, the Afghan national energy corporation stated that Afghanistan requires 850 megawatts of energy, with 620 megawatts coming from neighboring nations.
According to Sherbaz Kaminzada, the head of the Afghanistan Industries and Mines Chamber, at least 580 businesses in Kabul have suspended operations owing to power disruptions.
“As a result of the shutdown of enterprises, 4,500 workers lost their jobs,’’ Kaminzada said. The transmission of power from Uzbekistan stopped because of technical difficulties, despite protests about a power shortage in Kabul’s capital city.
Uzbekistan cut off electrical imports to Afghanistan in January, triggering power outages in several Afghan regions. On January 25, Uzbekistan halted electricity shipments to Afghanistan due to a large-scale power outage in the region. But the supply was back on Tuesday. Not just workers but doctors and patients are also struggling due to a lack of electricity. Doctors in northern Afghanistan are grappling with more regular power outages this winter. When there is a shortage of electricity, the electrical board, Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (Dabs), says hospitals get priority.
Afghanistan gets approximately all of its 1,600 megawatts from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Iran. The rest comes from household sources including hydroelectric dams, fossil-fuel power plants, and solar panels. Since the Taliban militant organization gained power last year, there has been an upsurge in power outages. Thus, prompting Afghans to speculate that they are the result of tensions between Central Asian republics and Afghanistan’s new authorities.
