DUSHANBE, March 15, 2012, Asia-Plus  -- The Tajik authorities have reportedly begun to cut off electricity supply to public catering facilities in Dushanbe.

Owners of a number of Dushanbe-based restaurants told Asia-Plus Thursday afternoon that electricity supply has been cut off without any preliminary notification.

An official source at the Dushanbe mayor’s office says that the municipal power supply network has not made any decision on cutting off electricity supply to the public catering facilities.

When Asia-Plus applied for clarification to Dushanbegorelektroset (the municipal power supply network), they said that the enterprise top managers are out of office and they will not be available until March 18 or even more in connection with preparations for celebrations to mark the Navrouz holiday.

They, however, confirmed that a decision on cutting off electricity supply to the public catering facilities in Dushanbe exists.

Meanwhile, Nozirjon Yodgori, a spokesman for Barqi Tojik (the state-owned utility responsible for generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity in Tajikistan), says that in Dushanbe, electricity supply is cut off only to the most incorrigible nonpayers.  “Those who do not have electricity debts may work with no worry,” he said.

We will recall that an official source at Barqi Tojik told Asia-Plus on March 14 that a recent sharp fall in temperatures has led to decrease in the water flow rate in the Vakhsh River on which the main hydropower plants of the country are located.  Compared to early March generation of electricity has reportedly fallen 15-20 percent.  The source further added that it could not be ruled out that electricity rationing would be introduced in all large cities, including Dushanbe, if the cold weather continued in the upper reaches of the Vakhsh River.

Barqi Tojik announced the imposition of a new rationing for electricity supplies throughout the country on October 13, 2011.  The rationing went into effect in the regions, with the exception of the capital Dushanbe and other large cities of the country.

Measures rationing electricity supplies are usually introduced in all regions except Dushanbe and seek to curb the country''s rising electricity consumption. The rationing is introduced in October or November and lasts through March or April next year.  The rationing results in the supply of daily electrical power being reduced to 12 or 10 hours.  In addition to curbing rising consumption, the move also stems from a decline in the water level in the country''s reservoirs powering the main hydroelectric power plants.