DUSHANBE -- Tajik authorities have announced plans to increase household electricity tariffs by 20 percent, starting in April, in conjunction with increased energy rationing.
State-run energy company Barqi Tojik announced the plans for supplies of electricity, which are already rationed in Tajikistan.
The announcement was immediately condemned by the opposition Islamic Renaissance Party, which said the move will only add to the impoverished Tajik people's financial hardship.
Tajik households currently receive five to six hours of electricity daily.
Officials say planned new cuts mean supplies will be available to some regions for only three to four hours per day.
Officials say a drastic drop in water levels at Lake Norak, where the country's largest hydropower plant is located, have resulted in a diminished capacity to generate electricity.
State-run energy company Barqi Tojik announced the plans for supplies of electricity, which are already rationed in Tajikistan.
The announcement was immediately condemned by the opposition Islamic Renaissance Party, which said the move will only add to the impoverished Tajik people's financial hardship.
Tajik households currently receive five to six hours of electricity daily.
Officials say planned new cuts mean supplies will be available to some regions for only three to four hours per day.
Officials say a drastic drop in water levels at Lake Norak, where the country's largest hydropower plant is located, have resulted in a diminished capacity to generate electricity.