Afghanistan - Energy and power

Two decades of warfare have left Afghanistan's power grid badly damaged. As of October 2002, only 6% of the population had access to electricity. In 2000, net electricity generation was 0.4 billion kWh, of which 36% came from fossil fuel, 64% from hydropower, and none from other sources. In the same year, consumption of electricity totaled 453.8 million kWh. Total installed capacity at the beginning of 2001was 0.497 million kW. Three hydroelectric plants were opened between 1965 and 1970, at Jalalabad, Naghlu, and Mahi Par, near Kabul; another, at Kajaki, in the upper Helmand River Valley, was opened in the mid-1970s. In addition to the Naghlu, Mahi Par, and Kajaki plants, other hydroelectric facilities that were operational as of 2002 included plants at Sarobi, west of Kabul; Pol-e Khomri; Darunta, in Nangarhar province; Dahla, in Kandahar province; and Mazar-i-Sharif. In 1991, a new 72-collector solar installation was completed in Kabul at a cost of $364 million. The installation heated 40,000 l of water to an average temperature of 60° C (140° F ) around the clock. Construction of two more power stations, with a combined capacity of 600 kW, was planned in Charikar City. The drought of 1998–2001 negatively affected Afghanistan's hydroelectric power production, which resulted in blackouts in Kabul and other cities. Another generating turbine is being added to the Kajaki Dam in Helmand province near Kandahar, with the assistance of the Chinese Dongfeng Agricultural Machinery Company. This will add 16.5 megawatts to its generating capacity when completed. The Dahla Dam in Kandahar province was restored to operation by 2001, along with the Breshna-Kot Dam in Nangarhar province, which has a generating capacity of 11.5 MW. The 66-MW Mahipar hydro plant is operating as well.

Natural gas was Afghanistan's only economically significant export in 1995, going mainly to Uzbekistan via pipeline. Natural gas reserves were once estimated by the Soviets at 140 billion cum. Production started in 1967 with 342 million cu m but had risen to 2.6 billion cu m in 1995. In 1991, a new gas field was discovered in Chekhcha, Jowzjan province. Natural gas was also produced at Shiberghan and Sar-i-Pol. As of 2002, other operational gas fields were located at Djarquduk, Khowaja Gogerdak, and Yatimtaq, all in Jowzjan province. As of 1997, natural gas production was 543,000 cu m (19 million cu ft). It was used domestically for urea production, power generation, and at a fertilizer plant.

In August 1996, a multinational consortium agreed to construct a 1,430 km (890 mi) pipeline through Afghanistan to carry natural gas from Turkmenistan to Pakistan, at a cost of about $2 billion. However US air strikes led to cancellation of the project in 1998, and financing of such a project has remained an issue because of high political risk and security concerns. As of 2002 interim president Hamid Karzai was attempting to revive the pipeline project.

A very small amount of crude oil is produced at the Angot field in the northern Sar-i-Pol province. Another small oilfield at Zomrad Sai near Shiberghan was reportedly undergoing repairs in mid-2001. Petroleum products such as diesel, gasoline, and jet fuel are imported, mainly from Pakistan and Turkmenistan. A small storage and distribution facility exists in Jalalabad on the highway between Kabul and Peshawar, Pakistan. Afghanistan is also reported to have oil reserves totaling 95 million barrels and coal reserves totaling 73 million tons.