The cost of electricity tariffs in Tajikistan may increase during the current year.  This was announced by the First Deputy Head of the Antimonopoly Agency under the Government of Tajikistan, Safarali Qurbonzoda, at a news conference on February 5.

According to Qurbonzoda, the Antimonopoly Agency has received a corresponding initiative from the BArqi Tojik Company.

The Agency has reportedly reviewed this issue and submitted proposals to the relevant authorities regarding an increase in electricity production costs.  A corresponding letter has already been sent by the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources to the government.

"A resolution has not yet been adopted, and it is unknown by how much electricity costs will rise.  This will only become clear after calculating the costs of production, transmission, and distribution of electricity," he added.

Qurbonzoda also noted that agreements and documents approved by specialized organizations and agencies determine the need for an annual increase in electricity rates.  In accordance with current legislation, electricity rates are approved by the country's government.

Who and how much pays for electricity

As of today, the average electricity rate in the country is 35 dirams per 1 kWh.  In 2021, this figure was 20.11 dirams.

It is worth noting that the last time electricity rates in Tajikistan were raised on January 1, 2024, by 16%—from 26.51 dirams per 1 kWh to 30.75 dirams for residential customers.

The electricity rates for other categories of electricity consumers were also be raised by 16 percent starting from January 1, 2024. 

Before that, electricity rates for all categories of consumers, except for TALCO (Tajik Aluminum Company), were raised on October 1, 2022.

However, electricity rate for TALCO was raised to 15.57 dirams (for the entire year) on January 1, 2023.  Before that, the company paid an average of 9.5 dirams per 1 kWh (7.20 dirams during the summer period from May 1 to September 30, and 11.80 dirams from October 1 to April 30).

At the same time, Tajikistan’s total electricity export volume last year exceeded 2.478 billion kilowatt-hours.