Several Kabul residents say that in recent days, electricity workers under Taliban control have been cutting power to their homes for no clear reason. They add that despite paying their bills on time, the problem recurs every few months. According to these residents, household power is being disconnected without prior notice, and in some cases, reconnection takes days. They stress that to restore service, they are forced to spend hours visiting offices run by the Taliban.
Speaking with the Hasht-e Subh Daily, the residents say that the sudden outages have created serious problems in their daily lives. They add that the repeated cuts have damaged household appliances and imposed extra costs on families. According to them, the conduct of Taliban electricity workers has been irresponsible, and the process for handling subscriber complaints is marked by disorder. They insist that families should be notified through an official notice or warning before their power is cut, and that subscribers who pay their bills on time should be treated fairly.
Sana, a Kabul resident, says that workers at a substation belonging to Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) under Taliban control cut her household’s power for two consecutive weeks without reason. She adds that when she went to the substation to ask why, the workers cited non-payment of the bill, even though the household had paid on time.
“This month and last, our power was completely cut for a full week,” she says. “At first, we thought it was a general outage, but then we noticed that all our neighbors had electricity and only ours was off. My brother checked and found that the power had been cut at the meter. When he went to the substation, the workers said the bill had not been paid, but when he showed them the payment receipts, they simply said sorry, a mistake was made.”
Shaker, another Kabul resident, says his electricity was also cut for three days without prior notice. He adds that the sudden, unjustified outage disrupted his family’s daily routine and damaged some of the appliances in his home.
“Our power was off for three days,” he says. “At first, we thought a pole might have come down or that there was a technical fault, since outages are an ordinary experience in Afghanistan. But after two days, we realized everyone had power except us. When I went to the substation, I learned that the power had been cut only from our home. This kind of disconnection is truly strange. The workers cut the power without notice and without checking anything. Even if a bill has not been paid, customers should be warned first. Cutting off people’s electricity without reason is an injustice.” He adds that he raised the issue with DABS under Taliban control and with the substation, but his complaint went unanswered.
“This is a serious problem,” he continues. “They cut the power without warning. Some of our appliances were burned out, and for several days, we also had no water because of it. We went to DABS and the substation and asked why they had cut the power without notice. They said the bill had not been paid, but in fact our bill had been paid, and the receipts had been handed over. Despite that, they keep making excuses, and it is not clear why they act this way.”
Sayed Aalam, another Kabul resident, says he, too, has seen his home’s electricity cut without justification on multiple occasions. He describes the workers’ conduct as irresponsible and says the complaints process is also disorderly. He emphasizes that Taliban electricity officials should notify families through an official notice or warning before disconnecting service, and should deal with paying subscribers lawfully and properly.
“Since the fall of the previous government, I have witnessed unjustified power cuts on several occasions,” he says. “I have always paid my electricity bill on time, and even now, as soon as I receive my salary, I set aside part of it for the bill. We have no outstanding debt and no unpaid bills that would justify cutting our power, yet they still disconnect it without warning. Even when a bill is unpaid, they should follow their own rules and procedures. This behavior is irresponsible, and their workers do not treat people properly. When we go to follow up, they are extremely rude.”
Aalam calls on DABS, under Taliban control, to halt such arbitrary actions and to treat subscribers who pay their bills on time properly and lawfully.
DABS, under Taliban control, has previously issued a notice urging all subscribers to pay their bills on time, but it has not explained the sudden disconnections.
Afghanistan imports much of its electricity from neighboring countries, including Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, and Tajikistan. According to a report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), about 80 percent of the country’s electricity is supplied from abroad, and Afghanistan spends nearly 220 million dollars a year on imports.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank have previously reported that the political crisis following the Taliban takeover, along with sanctions and economic restrictions, has reduced investment in the energy sector and worsened electricity shortages.
Kabul requires several hundred megawatts of electricity, but only about 350 megawatts are currently available on the grid.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
