Project to bring electricity to rural Afghanistan

An Afghan man fixing multiple electricity wires A project aimed at bringing electricity to the remote Badakhshan and Takhar provinces in North East Afghanistan for the first time, has won one of the five international awards at the 2012 Ashden Awards. The project, which was financed and implemented by the German development company GIZ, in tandem with consulting engineering firm INTEGRATION, was among one of five international winners, in the annual prestigious environmental awards event that is the Ashden awards.
The other winners in the International awards category were: 'Barefoot Power' from Uganda, 'IBEKA' from Indonesia, 'iDE/Hydrologic' from Cambodia and 'Shri Kshethra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project' from India.
The project called for the construction of new off-grid schemes which are capable of weathering and challenging most weather and natural obstacles.
The project address’ local sensitivities in this very tribal and conservative part of Afghanistan, as all the communities are allowed to participate in the construction work whilst, at the same time training in productive uses of electricity.
This in turn, stimulates the growth of small businesses in the war-torn country, offering the local people there a realistic and viable alternative to growing opium.
GIZ and INTEGRATION, worked with the Afghan Government, and so far 6 micro-hydro plants with a total capacity of 1.3MW have been installed, which will provide 24 hours electricity to 63,000 people.
Only one in three Afghans has access to electricity, and the country is still far too dependent on imported power.
The situation in the capital, Kabul, is far better than the rest of the country, with around 70 percent of households connected.
Connecting Afghans to power is key to boosting an economy weakened by decades of war and improving living standards in a country with a poor record on health and education.
Demand in Kabul has tripled over the past five years and is rising each year. But demand is still so modest that his total forecast for 2020 is just 5 percent of what is consumed by the United Kingdom now - even though Afghanistan's population is already nearly half the size of Britain's.
Power cuts are still a regular feature of life, especially at peak times, with more Afghans wanting to watch TV, use electric radiators or cook on electric stoves.
To meet its shortfall, the country has to rely on expensive, noisy and polluting diesel generators.
Access has improved since a new power line from Uzbekistan began transmitting electricity to Kabul in 2009. Land-locked Afghanistan also sources power from its other neighbours Iran, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan.
Afghanistan's power stations - mainly hydro plants - have potential to produce around 500 MW, but actually churn out less than half because of water shortages and maintenance problems.
Imports are also limited by an inadequate transmission network, and even though several projects are planned to strengthen power links, they will take years to complete.
Despite millions of dollars of aid poured into the sector over the past 10 years, many big projects that could light up all of Afghanistan still remain on the drawing board, have faced cost overruns or have been delayed due to security concerns.
Afghanistan has the potential to produce up to 23,000 MW from its vast hydro, solar, wind, gas and thermal resources, but much of that remains unexploited due to ongoing conflict.
The Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy, are annual awards given by a charity of the same. The foundation rewards local sustainable energy projects in the UK and developing countries that protect the environment and improve quality of life.