Several Kabul residents have been complaining about increasingly frequent power outages in recent days, saying the situation has created serious problems for daily life, businesses, and urban services. According to them, power cuts not only disrupt access to the internet and communication devices but also complicate people’s access to water. These residents add that they are forced to rely on power banks, batteries, and other alternative devices to cope with the problem, though these solutions are neither sustainable nor effective, and only address part of the issue.
Some Kabul residents, speaking with the Hasht-e Subh Daily, say that despite multiple electricity supply sources, the problem of shortages and frequent outages persists. They emphasize that repeated and irregular power cuts have not only disrupted access to water, the internet, and communication tools but have also negatively affected education, work activities, and other daily affairs.
Nawid Noorbakhsh, a Kabul resident, says Afghanistan is facing rising electricity consumption and growing dependence on imported power from neighboring countries. Every year, he says, as temperatures rise or fall and demand for electricity climbs, shortages and their consequences grow more acute. Noorbakhsh adds that power outages ripple through daily life, hitting students and online workers especially hard, as internet and Wi-Fi access also fail when the lights go out.
“When power goes out, people who study or work online face enormous difficulties, and their educational and professional activities grind to a halt,” this Kabul resident says. “At present, many courses and educational programs are held online, but at night, the absence of electricity prevents students from attending virtual classes on time or accessing learning materials. I have personally missed my online classes many times because of power cuts. On several occasions, electricity has gone out in the middle of an online job interview or a work meeting, cutting off my connection entirely. In many cases, after a power cut, the internet and Wi-Fi also go offline, and getting back into a class or an online meeting takes considerable time.”
Zarmeena Sharifi, a resident of District 11 in Kabul, says the extent of outages varies across neighborhoods, with blackouts sometimes stretching six or seven hours or longer. There are instances, she says, when electricity is available for only an hour or two, and at times residents go without power entirely for one to two days.
“Power outages are unpredictable and can strike at any hour of the day or night,” Ms. Sharifi says. “In some cases, electricity is available for only an hour or two. In summer and winter, the problem becomes more acute because people’s reliance on electrical appliances increases. Sometimes we have no electricity at all for a day or two. The absence of power creates many problems. Nearly every daily activity today depends on electricity, from cleaning and laundry to other household tasks. During outages, mobile phones cannot be charged, and we lose contact with family members. This has happened to us many times, where due to the lack of electricity, we have been unable to reach family members living abroad for days on end.”
Elham, a Kabul resident, says power outages are nothing new in the city and have a long history. For a period,d things had improved, she says, but recently the problem has worsened again. What is notable, she adds, is that even when electricity is absent or unstable, the bill sees no meaningful reduction, and the repeated cutting and restoring of power causes considerable economic damage to families. She says she relies on power banks and other energy storage devices to manage, but these solutions are not always effective.
“Sometimes power banks run out of charge too, especially when electricity only comes back late at night,” Elham says. “This is very difficult for me, as I work online. In winter, there have been many times when I sent my phone and power bank to the training center where my brother studies so he could charge them for me. What is striking is that we pay for electricity, yet in many instances, it simply is not there. This disrupts not only daily tasks but also educational and work activities. I hope the electricity situation improves again and people face fewer of these problems.”
Sohaila Siddiqui, another Kabul resident, says power outages disrupt every aspect of her daily routine. The absence of electricity, she notes, is not limited to darkness alone; it also brings water shortages and creates numerous hardships for families.
“During power outages, especially for those of us living in apartment buildings, access to water becomes a problem too,” she says. “After a power cut, water usually continues to flow for another hour or two, but then it stops along with the electricity. For this reason, we always keep some water stored at home. If we are not home or do not notice the power going out, we end up facing a water shortage. On top of that, keeping phones charged is a serious issue. I work and study online, and during outages, I face major difficulties because my phone battery drains quickly and I lose the ability to keep working or attend online classes.”
She adds, “These days, as the weather grows warmer, everyone needs a fan or an air conditioner, but with no electricity, using these appliances simply is not possible. Daily household tasks become difficult, too. We cannot use the washing machine, for example, and are forced to do laundry either late at night or early in the morning, whenever electricity happens to be available. For a period, the electricity situation had improved, but it is now unclear why the problems have returned. With the onset of hot or cold seasons and rising demand, outages become more frequent. These days we sometimes go three to four hours without power, and in some cases an entire day passes without electricity.”
Power outages are a persistent challenge in Afghanistan’s energy system, particularly in the capital and major cities. The problem occurs when residential and industrial demand for electricity far outstrips the country’s domestic generation capacity and its total electricity imports.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has recently announced that Afghanistan imports approximately 80 percent of its electricity, with more than 90 percent of that sourced from Central Asian countries and the remainder from Iran.
The UNDP also noted that Afghanistan holds significant potential in renewable energy, but a large portion of these resources remains untapped.
Properly harnessing these resources, the UNDP said, could meet the country’s energy needs several times over and, in the long term, transform Afghanistan into an energy exporter.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
پرچاویهای پایانناپذیر برق در کابل؛ خاموشیها در روزهای اخیر افزایش یافته است
