Afghanistan Energy Program Overview
Afghanistan’s power grid has been severely damaged by years of war, and less than 10 percent of its population currently has access to electricity, with Kabul suffering power shortages. Transmission lines from the Kajaki Dam in Helmand province near Kandahar were hit by an airstike in November 2001, but were repaired in early 2002. On several occasions since then, however, power to Kandahar has been cut off by attacks on the transmission lines. Three hydro-electric power dams provide baseload power to Kabul: the 100-MW Naghlu dam, the 66-MW Mahi Par dam, and the 22-MW Sarobi dam, with the latter two facilities slated to be rehabilitated, under a $16.9 million contract let to Voith Siemens in early 2004. Due to a lack of water flow on the Kabul River, only the Naghlu Dam, which has a sizable reservoir capacity, is operational all-year round to meet the needs of Kabul. The dams are located about 50 miles from Kabul and are linked by a 110-kV, double-circuit transmission line. Since the early 1990s, United Nations de-mining teams have intermittently worked on the area around the line. Aside from mines, the power line also has a number of technical problems, which further limit power supplies to Kabul. Prior to the early 1990s, Kabul also had two gas-fired power plants located on the outskirts of the city. ABB recently refurbished one of the plants, which has a 45-MW capacity. It is anticipated to be used to meet peaking demand for the foreseeable future. The other plant, with a 44-MW capacity, was partly destroyed in the early 1990s.
Neighboring countries also supply electricity to some of Afghanistan’s border regions. Turkmenistan supplies electricity to much of northwestern Afghanistan, including Mazar-i-Sharif and Herat. This arrangement was affirmed in an agreement signed in August 2002 between the Karzai government and Turkmenistan, continuing an earlier agreement between the Taliban government and Turkmenistan. Uzbekistan also supplies electricity to the northern area around Mazar-i-Sharif, supplementing a small local gas-fired power plant. Uzbekistan resumed its supply arrangement in August 2002, after having terminated supplies of electricity in 1999 during the period of Taliban rule. In May 2003, Tajikistan resumed supplies of electricity to the northern Afghanistan province of Kunduz, although power supplies were expected to halt in October 2003. Iran also supplies electricity to Afghanistan, in some areas directly adjacent to the Afghan-Iranian border in Herat, Farah, and Nimroz provinces. Reportedly, Iran plans to increase power supplies to Afghanistan’s Herat province from Khorasan.
Afghanistan Programs
Access to reliable, affordable power is critical to building a vibrant private sector, yet less than 15 percent of Afghans have access to electricity. USAID is working to remedy this situation by supporting the North-East Power System, a multi-donor initiative that will expand access to reliable, low-cost electricity to over 20 percent of the population by mid-2009. USAID is also improving thermal electrical generation facilities for major cities, including Kabul, and rehabilitating the Kajaki Dam, the principal source of electricity in southern Afghanistan. A list of major energy programs follows:
The Afghanistan Infrastructure and Rehabilitation Program (IRP)
