The officials of the Herat Electricity Department said that they have started the construction of a new power plant at a cost of more than three and a half million dollars in order to increase the electricity in the province.

The power plant will increase the voltage of electricity imported from Turkmenistan to Herat from 120 V to 220 V and is supposed to be built in six months.

“The electricity pressure from Turkmenistan to Herat increases from 120 V to 220 V,” said Delawer Muradi, deputy of the Herat Electricity Department.

At the same time, the foundation and laying of a new power line imported from Turkmenistan to Herat has also started.

“The laying of the new power line to the border of Torghundi in Turkmenistan has been completed. Herat Electricity Department has started the foundation work and is laying the line from Torghundi to Herat city. The new line delivers electricity to the Noor Jihad power plant in the north of Herat city and thus enters the urban electricity system,” said Yonis, a representative of the Ministry of Energy of Turkmenistan.

In the heat and cold, lack of electricity makes life difficult for the residents of Herat, and the need for electricity in Herat is more than the capacity of electricity imported from neighboring countries to the province.

“The weather is hot and because all appliances such as air conditioners and refrigerators are electric, the lack of electricity has increased recently,” said Farid Ahmad, a Herat resident.

“In hot and cold weather, power outages and fluctuations cause damage to electrical appliances,” said Nazir Ahmad, a Herat resident.

The energy needed by Herat city and some districts of the province is supplied by imported electricity from Iran and Turkmenistan, and currently 160 megawatts of electricity is imported to Herat from these two countries.