DUSHANBE, April 12, 2013, Asia-Plus -- The Government of Switzerland has awarded a US$1.7 million grant to the Government of Tajikistan for social protection of low-income residential electricity consumers in the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) Pamir Energy Company (PamirEnergy) director general Daler Jumayev said.

According to him, this support has been provided in the framework of the agreement between Tajikistan and Switzerland on technical and financial cooperation as well as humanitarian aid.

This grant, which is partially administered by the World Bank, will extend subsidies until the end of 2014, Mr. Jumayev noted.

The Government of Switzerland has also provided US$1.8 million to PamirEnergy for completion of the power consumption accounting program that provides for purchase and installation of 1,500 home electricity meters.

“The company plans to complete installation of all electricity meters before the end of November this year in order to apply a new scheme of targeted subsidies as soon as possible,” said Jumayev.  “The Government of Tajikistan recently approved the plan of financial restructuring of PamirEnergy and after 20104, Pamir Energy will use its own funds and funds kept in a  special escrow account to finance necessary subsidies until the end of concession (2027).”

Mr. Jumayev noted that support provided by the Government of Switzerland in a total amount of 3.5 million U.S. dollars would facilitate improvement of living conditions of the population in Gorno Badakhshan and keep a stable supply of electricity in the region during the winter.

Mr. Peter Mikula, Country Director of the Swiss Cooperation Office in Tajikistan, says this support will facilitate reliable and accessible power supply and improvement of living conditions of the population as well as will have beneficial effect on financial, environmental and social situation in Gorno Badakhshan.

Established in 202, PamirEnergy is a joint project of the Government of Tajikistan, the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED), the World Bank’s private finance division, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).  A total cost of the project is some 26.5 million U.S. dollars, including the Tajik government’s contribution of 10 million U.S. dollars.

The company has a 25 year concession on the assets formerly under the management on Barqi Tojik (Tajik electricity supplier) in Gorno Badakhshan.  In exchange for this concession (management right), PamirEnergy has invested in completing the Pamir hydropower station, rehabilitating power generation, transmission and distribution assets, and improving the management of the company.

The project supported the rehabilitation of the hydropower infrastructure and transmission lines to increase electricity supply capacity.  The affordability of electricity for the poorest households was ensured by a lifeline subsidy scheme funded primarily by a grant from the Government of Switzerland.

Electricity supply in Gorno Badakhshan has increased from three hours to 22–24 hours per day during the winter.  An estimated 220,000 people, including more than half of which are women, have benefitted from improved electricity services.  As a result of the project, schools, hospitals, and businesses can now stay open during the cold winter months.

The company now operates eleven hydropower plants in the region, including Pamir-1 HPP, the Khorog HPP and nine small hydropower plants located in the GBAO districts.  In the winter time, a total capacity of these plants is some 43 megawatts.