Afghanistan state firm vows to pay electricity debts to central Asian countries soon

Kabul [Afghanistan], November 17 : Amid the economic and power crisis in the country, Afghanistan state electricity company has promised that it will soon pay the electricity debts owed to Central Asian countries.
"Breshna Sherkat is going to pay the electricity debts very soon to the neighbouring countries," said Hekmatullah Noorzai, a spokesperson for officials of De Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), as quoted by TOLOnews.
Afghan Chamber of Industries and Mines said factories will stop operating if electricity is cut off by the neighbouring countries.
"Productive factories rely on electricity, if there is no electricity, the problems will significantly increase," said Mohammad Karim Azimi, CEO of Chamber of Industries and Mines.
Last week, Afghanistan decided to import 100 megawatts of electricity from Iran due to the shortage of electricity and the approaching winter months when demand for power increases.
DABS said they have signed an agreement with Iran to import 100 megawatts of electricity to Afghanistan, TOLOnews reported. The company said that it is buying electricity to address the shortage in provinces in the west.
Afghanistan's capital city Kabul could dive into darkness due to the non-payment of dues of central Asian electricity suppliers by new Taliban rulers.
Electricity imports from neighbouring countries like Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan account for 80 per cent of the country's power consumption.
Taliban took over Kabul in August and assumed control of the state energy utility, inheriting its debts. But it has so far failed to make payments to the creditors.