M.Hossain Nickhah
The power outage has caused challenges for the residents of Firozkoh city, in the Ghor province of central Afghanistan. Some residents of Firozkoh narrate that the lack of electricity has disrupted their normal lives.
Ghor electricity officials, confirmed the power outage in the province, stating that the main cause of power outages in Firozkoh was the lack of fuel for the operation of generators in the province.
In recent days, the price of fuel, especially diesel, has risen sharply in the western provinces. A large portion of fuel in the Ghor province comes from Herat, and rising fuel prices in Herat have pushed up prices in the Ghor province.
Meanwhile, with the onset of the cold season, rising fuel prices have created additional problems for residents of the cold province of Ghor. Every year, with the arrival of the cold season, fuel prices increase in the local markets of Ghor province.
Residents of Firozkoh complained about the power outage, calling for the electricity company to step in to solve their problems. Some residents of Firozkoh stated that the electricity supply to the city has been cut off for several days now, emphasizing that this has created many problems for them.
Mohammad Alam runs a small grocery store in the city of Firozkoh. He says that the power outage has created many challenges for the residents of the city, adding that the shopkeepers have suffered financial losses.
Electricity officials in Ghor province say the reason for the power outage is a lack of fuel for “generators” to generate electricity. Ahmad Firozkohi, the operational director of the Ghor Electricity Company, told local media in Ghor that the province’s electricity is not imported or Hydropower, stressing that the only source of supply is the company’s diesel generators.
According to him, the company will not be able to provide people with electricity until the bank accounts and revenue system of Ghor Electricity Company are activated.
“Unfortunately, contracts that used to supply fuel/diesel generators are breached” he added; “Therefore, Breshna Company cannot provide electricity services.”
The CEO of Ghor Power Company emphasized that they have bought about 10,000 liters of diesel from the open market, all of which have been consumed. When the fuel ran out, the generators were consequently turned off and the city was cut off.
Although residents of Firozkoh complain about the negligence of local officials in resolving the power outage in the province, local officials in Ghor, say the problem of fuel and power outages have been discussed with central government officials. So far, no action has been taken to resolve this issue.
Most of the fuel and consumables in Ghor province come from Herat. Any change in the price of goods in Herat markets has a direct impact on the price of consumables in Ghor’s markets.
Kilometers away from the small town of Firozkoh, fuel prices in the city of Herat have also increased.
Ibrahim, a resident of Herat, believes that a few months ago the price of a liter of oil in the Herat market was about 26 afghanis, but after a fire at the Islam Qala customs, the price of fuel increased and now the price of one liter of oil is about 60 Afghanis.
Electricity has been one of the biggest problems in Ghor for the past 20 years. Residents of Ghor had set out large-scale protests in recent years to address the electricity problem, but no action has been taken to supply electricity.
The Roads and Lightening Movement was one of the biggest petitions of the people of Ghor for having electricity and building transportation routes in the province. The protests even spread to Herat and Kabul provinces.
Following the escalation of protests over the lack of electricity and roads in the province, a delegation from Kabul traveled to Ghor during the previous government and signed a written agreement between representatives of the former government and representatives of the protesters, promising that the government would solve the electricity problem in Ghor.
Months after an agreement was reached between the government and members of the Ghor Road and Lightening Movement, the government’s promise was not fulfilled, and Ghor residents claimed that Ashraf Ghani’s government and members of the delegation to Ghor had deceived the people.
The only source of electricity in Ghor province is the diesel generators of the electricity company. In addition, people use solar panels for homes and mobile chargers.
Although the operation of the Pozlicا hydropower dam was supposed to provide a small portion of Ghor’s electricity needs, the construction of this important infrastructure project did not end with government promises. The inhabitants of Ghor could not thus fulfill one of their most important demands.
The Pozlich hydroelectric dam is under construction at a cost of about $ 15 million. If exploited, it will supply four megawatts of electricity. However, the power outage due to lack of fuel in Ghor province has caused many problems for the residents of this province.