Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, 31 July / Trend, H. Hasanov /
Deliveries of Turkmen electricity to Tajikistan through Afghanistan are quite possible, according to the Tajik media in reference to Barki Tojik, the state energy company of Tajikistan.
"Construction of the transmission line from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan is currently underway, and it is possible to connect it to the 220 KV Sangtuda-Puli Khumri transmission line, but this requires funding," the Tajik information agency AP - Asia-Plus quoted the deputy chairman of Barki Tojik Abdullah Kurbonov as saying.
According to him, so far, Tajikistan is not in a position to finance the construction of this line.
"Joining the 500-kilovolt transmission line Mary (Turkmenistan) - Andhoi (Afghanistan) to the 220-kV transmission line Sangtuda (Tajikistan) - Puli Khumri (Afghanistan) will make the supply of electricity to Tajikistan quite possible," he said.
Tajikistan annually experiences a great demand for electricity in the autumn and winter, when electricity generation by the country's hydropower plants is sharply reduced due to a reduction in the level of water in the Vakhsh River.
Until 2009, Tajikistan was receiving additional electricity from Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan in winter, but after Uzbekistan withdrew from the Unified Energy System of Central Asia, imports of electricity from Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan in winter became impossible.
Uzbekistan, as reported by AP (Asia-Plus), does not give its consent to the use of its networks for the transit of electricity from Turkmenistan to Tajikistan, which is the largest supplier in the region.
The existing transport infrastructure allows Ashgabat to export electricity to Turkey, Afghanistan, Iran and greater Central Asia. Turkmenistan has approved a plan for the development of the electric power industry of Turkmenistan for 2013-2020, with an investment of over $5 billion.
The concept's implementation is provided in two phases: in 2013-2016, it is planned to build eight gas driven power plants in the Akhal, Lebap and Mary velayats (regions), reconstruct power plants in the cities of Seydi, Balkanabad and Abadan, and construct high-voltage power lines. This will almost double production of electricity by 2016.
There are ten power plants and 32 turbines in Turkmenistan, of which: 14 are steam fired, 15 run off of gas and three are water turbines. In 2007-2012, the amount of electricity produced has increased by 138 percent.
According to earlier forecasts, Turkmen electricity exports to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran should have totaled 2.713 billion kilowatt / hours in 2012, or 7.5 per cent more than in 2011. It was expected that the total electricity production would reach 19,189 kilowatt / hours, or five percent more than in 2011.