DUSHANBE, February 27, 2013, Asia-Plus  -- The concept of attraction of investments to support small hydropower development in Tajikistan was presented in Dushanbe on February 27 during the consultations on the theme of “Small Hydropower in Tajikistan: Experience and Development.”

Organized by the Ministry of Energy and Industries (MoEI) under support of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan, the event was dedicated to a Day of Tajikistan Small Hydropower, which is marked annually on February 27.

The meeting brought together representatives of government bodies, non-government and international organizations active in Tajikistan and media.

Speaking at the meeting, Nourmamad Kholnazarov, head of the MoEI power industry department, noted Tajikistan was rich in water-and-energy resources and a total capacity of Tajik small hydropower plants was more than 20,000 kW.

“However, the country suffers from acute shortages of electricity during the winter that is one of the main obstacles in the way of development of national economy,” Kholnazarov noted.

According to him, to improve the power supply situation in the country the government has made a decision to build additional 189 micro and small hydropower plants with a total capacity of 106.6 megawatt.  These plants will generate some 650 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electrical power per year.

“Unfortunately, the pace of construction of small hydropower plants is behind of schedule and we are experiencing serious problems connected with maintenance of them.”

Kholnazarov stressed that some small hydropower plants are not in operation or have significantly reduced electricity production.

The meeting participants noted that shortcomings of the country’s legislation, fuzziness of legal norms, problems with getting permit documents, existing tariff policy, and lack of interest from local banks in financing small hydropower sector also impeded development of small hydropower in Tajikistan.

According to the Agency for Statistics under the President of Tajikistan, there were 305 small hydropower plants with a total capacity of more than 25,500 kW in the country as of February 1, 2013.  Of those 305 small hydropower plants, only 202 with a total capacity of more than 19,800 kW are operational, while the remaining 103 with a total capacity of some 5,700 kW are not in operation, the Agency for Statistics said.

Water management policy development, regional water dialogue, confidence-building and supporting small hydropower development are the programmatic priorities of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan in the area of water management and energy security.  Based on requests from the Government of Tajikistan, the Office has been gradually expanding its portfolio of water-related activities in recent years.  In January 2009, a Water Management Unit was established as the designated focal point for bringing together projects and programmatic activities, analytical contributions and strategic advice on water issues.  The Office closely cooperates with the Ministry of Land Reclamation and Water Resources and the Ministry of Energy and Industries in the implementation of its projects.

Hydropower is a critical sector of the Tajik energy sphere, since the country obtains the bulk of its electricity from hydropower plants scattered throughout the mountainous country.