Just two in five, or 40%, of people in Afghanistan have access to electricity, according to the country’s power utility.

And things could be about to get worse. Tajikistan on July 31 advised that it plans to lower electricity exports to its southern neighbour by around a quarter this coming winter because of domestic supply problems. Conflict-ravaged Afghanistan relies heavily on imported power.

Abdul Bari Omar, head of Taliban-run national utility Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), was reported by AMU TV, as saying: “Currently, Kabul and several provinces receive power from Tajikistan. Based on the information we have, this winter we will receive 25% less than last year.”

Tajikistan typically supplies around 150 megawatts of electricity annually to Afghanistan.

DABS said that it has this year connected more customers to the grid, meaning it has provided an additional 80 MW of electricity to households and businesses, further straining the power network.

Kabul residents have reported more frequent blackouts in recent weeks, with some saying the outages have been longer and more severe than in previous years, said AMU TV.

Afghanistan, meanwhile, has reportedly restarted construction on its section of the CASA-1000 Central Asia-to-South Asia power line, raising hopes that the World Bank-backed project could be completed by the end of 2026. Tajik officials, as reported by Asia-Plus, said all materials and equipment were already on site.

Afghanistan has previously claimed that around 70% of the work is completed.

Construction stalled after the Taliban returned to power in 2021 after the US and allies exited Afghanistan.

An objective of CASA-1000 will be to export surplus hydropower from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to Afghanistan and Pakistan.