User:Armaanismail/Renewable energy in Asia

Tajikistan
After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and successive five-year civil war in Tajikistan came to an end, many of the electricity supply systems of the region failed due to the destruction of the electricity transmission infrastructure during the war and the termination of the Soviet-subsidized diesel fuels that offered most of the power. As a result, many people resorted to cutting trees to provide wood fuel for cooking and heating during the winter. The cutting of trees destroyed almost 70% of the forest cover of the region.

The government of Tajikistan established Pamir Energy in 2002 after receiving financial support from Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development and World Bank. The lack of electricity had resulted in the closure of health centers, businesses, and schools. Instead, people had to use coal, kerosene, firewood, and dung. The fuels were obtained from remote areas resulting in inflated prices of the fuel due to the high transport cost incurred in the process.

With the support of medium and small hydropower plants, Pamir Energy now distributes, generates, and sells pure electricity to 96% of the Tajikistan population together with areas along the border of Afghanistan. The government has subsidized the cost of electricity to make it accessible to the poorest households. The lives of Afghan Badakhshan and Eastern Tajikistan have improved due to the availability of reliable electricity. Homes and schools are now accessed with electricity for heating during the winter. Electricity has also replaced coal, which has helped improve the health of the people of Eastern Tajikistan. Various plants have linked together in the Pamir Energy regional grid, which has ensured the supply of high-quality and reliable electricity to the residents of Eastern Tajikistan.

Pamir Energy provides electricity in two forms: government and commercial entities and another for domestic consumption. The Government of Tajikistan has established a Customer Support Scheme to reduce tariffs to ensure everybody can afford electricity and prevent people from using coal, dung, and wood.Pamir Energy has renovated and established 11 medium and small hydropower plants and has also refurbished 4,300 km of the previous distribution and transmission facilities, reducing transmission cost to 12% from 39%. The capacity of the plants ranges from 137kw to 27 MW, with 43.5 MW as the total capacity. The plants generate 170 GWh of electricity yearly and also service over 34,000 Afghanistan and 220,000 Tajikistan populations.

Customers use collection agents or ATMs to make payments at the district offices of the Pamir Energy network. The company had installed meters to improve the reading of the usage and control supply level and can also terminate supply for defaulting customers. With advancements in the level of technology in Eastern Tajikistan, the system will start accepting mobile payments.Pamir Energy has made every effort to ensure the supply of electricity in the region is maintained for unforeseen future. The company has renovated one plant to 1.5MW to provide electricity supply to over 1000 households in Eastern Tajikistan. Pamir Energy also projects to establish another hydropower plant of 125 kW to improve the electrification of 2000 households in Eastern Tajikistan and northern Afghanistan. The company plans to develop additional 30 hydropower sites to respond to the ever-increasing demand for electricity in the regions. Additionally, Pamir Energy projects to extend its operations to other areas in Tajikistan and Afghanistan to facilitate socio-economic development in the regions.