During the winter months, Kabul residents used to receive electricity only sporadically throughout the day, relying on wood stoves and candles for heat and light. This December, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and a consortium of donors including USAID launched a successful effort to bring round-the-clock power to Kabul.
The Government of Afghanistan negotiated the purchase of electricity from Uzbekistan while re-engineering an existing power line to transmit electricity from Uzbekistan to Kabul through Mazer-e-Sharif. Only 36 days from the inception of the project, 40 megawatts of power was flowed to Kabul. One megawatt of electricity reaches 800 households and powers 20,000 50-watt light bulbs. Now, over 216,000 residents have electricity almost 24 hours per day.
“I can study at night without ruining my eyes,” 22-year-old student Sharifa Fahim happily exclaimed. Muneer Jamili, a Kabul businessman, looks forward to enjoying a hot shower every night. “Electricity has changed our lives,” he said. Now that power has reached Kabul, the project will continue to bring more, affordable electricity to the capital and other parts of Afghanistan.
USAID/Afghanistan Program Highlights Double Issue: 1/16/2009-2/15/2009 2/15/2009