DUSHANBE, January 31, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- Electricity debts of residential customers as well as enterprises and organizations increased by 87 million somoni through last year, reaching more than 276 million somoni, according to Barqi Tojik power holding.  The rate of collection of the funds for electricity consumption was 85.2 percent.

The Ministry of Land Reclamation and Water Resources (MLRWR) alone now owes 102.1 million somoni to Barqi Tojik.  Tajik Aluminum Company’s (Talco) power debts have reached 97.6 million somoni to this date, and electricity debts of the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) are now 15.5 million somoni.

Speaking in an interview with Asia-Plus, Nozir Yodgoir, a spokesman for Barqi Tojik, said that increase in the overall power debts had resulted from large last year’s debts of enterprises of the MLRWR (60.7 million somoni), MoA (7.2 million somoni), Joint Venture TajikAzot (2.7 million somoni), and republican waterworks (5 million somoni).

Residential customers’ electricity debts have amounted to 5.8 million somoni to this date.  Population of the Khatlon province now owes 4.8 million somoni to Barqi Tojik, Sughd public’s power debts amount to 850,000 somoni and power debts of residential customers in the districts subordinate to the center (RRPs) amount to 200,000 somoni, the spokesman said.