Over the first six months of this year, Tajikistan has produced nearly 11.8 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity, marking a 12.2% increase compared to the same period last year.

Despite the boost in output, the country is facing a growing problem with unpaid electricity bills, with total debt now reaching 4.47 billion somonis (US$468 million), according to the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources (MoEWR).

Who owes the most?

The largest share of the debt comes from residential customers, who collectively owe around 1.7 billion somonis.

Other major debtors include:

• TALCO (Tajik Aluminum Company): 718 million somonis
• Agency for Land Reclamation and Irrigation: 238.1 million somonis
• Federally-funded institutions: 108.3 million somonis
• State Unitary Enterprise Tajikvodokanal (waterworks facility): 16.4 million somonis

Compared to the beginning of 2025, total arrears have increased by 340.5 million somonis, or 8.2%.

Electricity exports on the rise

Tajikistan exported 1.12 billion kWh of electricity in the first half of the year, earning 322.6 million somonis.  This represents a 56.4% increase in volume from the same period in 2024.  The breakdown of exports is as follows:

• Afghanistan: 718 million kWh worth 312 million somonis
• Uzbekistan: 395.8 million kWh worth 9 million somonis
• Other countries: 9.5 million kWh worth 1.6 million somonis

Energy losses remain high

System-wide electricity losses totaled 2.26 billion kWh—roughly 17.2% of the total output. However, this marks a 3.3% improvement compared to the same period last year.