Afghanistan’s current power need 1,500 megawatts, says MoEW

KABUL (TOLOnews): The Ministry of Energy and Water said that the current power demands of Afghanistan are 1,500 megawatts—with up to 720 megawatts being imported and the rest supplied by internal sources.
The spokesman for the MoEW, Hekmatullah Maiwandi, said that more than 500 megawatts of power are being supplied by domestic sources, particularly the water dams.
“In general, our domestic product is 565 megawatts of power. The whole country needs between 1,400 to 1,500 megawatts of power,” he said. The main Afghan power dams include Naghlo, Mahipar, Sarobi, Kajaki, Salma and Daronta.
“From September to May it (dam) is making rotations, after this period, water both in Logar and Kabul river dries up. Then this station is deactivated, and we are working on repairs,” said Mumtaz Ahmad, a worker at the Mahipar dam.
At the end of 2009, due to frequent power shortages, the US invested $340 million in a thermal power station in Kabul.
However, the station is not used normally due to the high price of fuel.
“This thermal power station started running at the end of 2009, its overall capacity is 105 megawatts, which is usually being used during the peak time of power shortages in the winter or if the power pylons are damaged,” said Ahmad Wais Sargand, general director of the thermal power station.
Despite having mass natural sources and water, Afghanistan is facing extreme challenges in power supply as the majority of its electricity is being imported from the neighboring countries, especially the Central Asia.