Kyrgyzstan begins power cuts

Kyrgyzstan electricity rationing imposes nightly load shedding from 2400 to 0500 to cap power consumption, conserve Toktogul reservoir levels, safeguard hydropower output, and manage Syr Darya water releases affecting Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan.

In anticipation of another severe winter, the Kyrgyz government has announced electricity cuts starting October 1.

AKIpress reported that the Kyrgyz Ministry of Industry, Energy and Fuel Resources has issued an order, "On observing a limit on power consumption," in accordance with which electricity supplies will be cut off "from 2400 to 0500 local time starting from 1 October 2009."

The Kyrgyz Ministry of Industry, Energy and Fuel Resources issued the directive in order to ensure the capping of power consumption in order to retain 7.5 billion to 7.8 billion cubic meters of water in the Toktogul reservoir, the country's main hydroelectric facility for generating electricity, as regional Russian energy dynamics influence supply, until April 1, 2010.

Kyrgyzstan's 15 hydroelectric stations generate 92.5 percent of domestically consumed electricity.

Kyrgyzstan's growing reliance on hydroelectric power and its position at the headwaters of the Syr Darya, one of the two largest rivers in Central Asia, have exacerbated its relationship with downstream Uzbekistan as it moves to leave the Soviet-era grid for greater autonomy, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, which depend on regular spring and summer water discharges for their agriculture, even as Uzbekistan's power exports to Afghanistan reshape regional trade.

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