Tajikistan to jail people for illegal electricity use

DUSHANBE, Tajikistan: Tajikistan has introduced 10-year prison sentences for the illegal use of electricity, as a decades-long energy crisis caused by water shortages worsens in the poor Central Asian country.

Electricity consumption in Tajikistan is limited for about six months per year, as its outdated energy infrastructure struggles to keep up with rising demand. The country´s energy and water resources ministry on Saturday announced measures to introduce “criminal liability for violations of regulations on the use of electricity”.

In a sign of how tightly the country controls the press and flow of information, it was only reported by independent media outlets on Monday.

Under the new rules, anybody found trying to disconnect or bypass an electricity meter will face up to 10 years in prison. Ex-Soviet Tajikistan is ruled by President Emomali Rakhmon, a former state farm boss who has held power since 1992.

Justice Minister Rustam Shoemurod said earlier in April that those who alter meter readings or bypass them to avoid payments are “seriously damaging the country´s economic interests”.

A shortage of water needed to fuel hydroelectric plants, which generate about 95 percent of electricity output in Tajikistan, has led to years of regular power outages. In March, Rakhmon said he was concerned about the irrational use of electricity in the Central Asian country, where the average salary is below $240.