Electricity supply from Uzbekistan halts after militants destroy power towers in Afghanistan

AKIPRESS.COM - Electric power imported from Uzbekistan was drastically cut in 11 Afghan provinces, including Kabul, after "anti-government armed militants destroyed two power pylons in the northern province of Baghlan," according to a statement by the power supply company De Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), TOLOnews reports.
"The incident happened approximately at 10 a.m. on Sunday when the two pylons were blown up by explosives," DABS spokesman Wahidullah Tawhidi said.
A large portion of the electricity is used by factories in Kabul's industrial parks in the east of the city.
Some Kabul residents blamed the government for its failure to build sufficient infrastructure.
"The government should pay full attention to this area. Power should not be cut off like this," said Abdullah, a Kabul resident.
Power transmission lines in Afghanistan have been damaged many times over the past year.
Uzbekistan plans to complete construction of the new Surhan-Puli-Khumri power transmission line by December 2019. The $150 million worth project was supposed to be completed by late 2020.
The 260-km-long power transmission line will allow to increase electricity imports from Uzbekistan to Afghanistan for 70% to 6 billion kWh a year.