On October 12, the electric power council of the CIS member states held its thirty-second session in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Participants included the heads of electric energy authorities, national electric companies from CIS countries, observers, invited guests and organizations. The highlight of the session was the signing of an agreement on transmission and supply of Turkmen electricity to Tajikistan via Uzbekistan.

The Commonwealth of Independent States electric power council was formed in 1992; its main objective is to develop coordinated energy-related actions among CIS member states and to ensure sustainable and effective power supply into the economies of the respective countries, based on the common electric-energy systems. During the session held, thirteen important energy-related issues were discussed. The simultaneous rehabilitation and unification of single energy systems between the CIS and Baltic states with the energy systems of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan was the most significant. The success of the meeting was such that a final agreement between Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan on transmission and supply of electricity was settled and signed.

Already on October 5, during the official visit of the Turkmen president to Tajikistan, an agreement was made on Turkmenistan annually supplying electricity to Tajikistan during the autumn/winter months. However, Uzbekistan posed an obstacle for this agreement to become feasible. Turkmenistan agreed to be responsible for delivering electricity at the border with Uzbekistan, whereas transit arrangements were entirely the responsibility of the Tajik side. It was during the October 6 EurAsEC meeting that Tajik president Emomali Rahmon announced the three countries had agreed on the supply and transmission of electricity. The final agreement and necessary arrangements were signed and discussed among energy officials during the CIS electric power council meeting.

The significance of the Tajik-Turkmen-Uzbek agreement is that comparing to last winter, the present energy deal has more prospects of being realized. Last year, similar talks took place among Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan regarding the supply of electricity to Tajikistan via Uzbekistan. But the Uzbek side failed to comply with the agreement, claiming it did not have the capacity to transmit power due to busy and fragile power grids. Uzbek representatives on the CIS energy power council declared that the work on repairing energy transmission networks and energy grids had already started and soon Uzbekistan would be able to make the transfer.

Due to acute power shortages, the construction of hydroelectric stations is the number one priority for Tajikistan to achieve energy independence. Emomali Rahmon uses every possibility to announce that Tajikistan will soon become energy self-sufficient. To this effect, two big hydroelectric plants are being built on the Amu Darya and Zeravshan rivers. However, these are trans-boundary rivers and Uzbek-Tajik tensions and disputes did not fail to ensue, the contested issue being that Tajikistan’s energy ambitions should not affect the rivers’ flow. But there are other problems regarding the power plants as well: disagreements between Tajik and Russian investors on ownership of the future dam have arisen. Russia claims as much as 75% of the ownership, which Tajikistan is not ready to give away.

Aslam Cahudhry, UN technical adviser on water and environment, agreed that Uzbekistan will be affected by the Rogun dam and also expressed his pessimism about construction of the Rogun, saying that it has not made much progress. Nevertheless, it seems that for Uzbekistan it is more beneficial and safer to ensure that energy-hungry Tajikistan will fulfill its energy deficit with Turkmen energy coming via Uzbekistan rather than by constructing hydroelectric dams and thus having control over the water flows leading downstream to Uzbekistan.

The international tension amounts to fear on both sides of becoming too dependent on one another – Tajikistan on energy, Uzbekistan on water. Experts say the two countries are gradually working on resolving the disputes and the Uzbek consent to transmit Turkmen electricity to Tajikistan is a small but significant step toward cooperation.