InfoAnda - Electricity only reaches one in three Afghans |

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

U.S. urges swift implementation of Sudan Abyei deal | | 20 June 2011
New Matt Damon movie may bring Iraq war into mainstream | | 11 March 2010
Tom Cruise Sued Over Alleged Spying, Wiretapping | 22 December 2009

Twitter dating for tech-savvy singles | 18 February 2010

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Electricity only reaches one in three Afghans |

Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Home Business Business Home Economy Davos 2012 Technology Media Small Business Legal Deals Earnings Summits Business Video Markets Markets Home U.S. Markets European Markets Asian Markets Global Market Data Indices M&A Stocks Bonds Currencies Commodities Futures Funds peHUB World World Home U.S. Brazil China Euro Zone Japan Mexico Russia India Insight World Video Politics Politics Home Election 2012 Issues 2012 Candidates 2012 Tales from the Trail Political Punchlines Supreme Court Politics Video Tech Technology Home MediaFile Science Tech Video Opinion Opinion Home Chrystia Freeland John Lloyd Felix Salmon Jack Shafer David Rohde Bernd Debusmann Nader Mousavizadeh James Saft Lucy P. Marcus David Cay Johnston Bethany McLean Edward Hadas Hugo Dixon Ian Bremmer Mohamed El-Erian Lawrence Summers Susan Glasser The Great Debate Steven Brill Geraldine Fabrikant Breakingviews Equities Credit Private Equity M&A Macro & Markets Politics Money Money Home Global Investing MuniLand Unstructured Finance Linda Stern Mark Miller John Wasik Analyst Research Alerts Watchlist Portfolio Stock Screener Fund Screener Personal Finance Video Life & Culture Health Sports Arts Faithworld Business Traveler Entertainment Oddly Enough Lifestyle Video Pictures Pictures Home Reuters Photographers Full Focus Video Article Comments (0) Full Focus Photos of the week Our top photos from the past week. Full Article Images of December Best photos of the year Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Venezuela will not recognize World Bank ruling in Exxon case 08 Jan 2012 Iran to launch nuclear work in bunker in "near future" 08 Jan 2012 U.S. soldiers confined to base over missing equipment 08 Jan 2012 Australian survives terrifying fall after bungee snaps 1:40am EST Greece should quit euro unless "massive" funding given: Czech 08 Jan 2012 Discussed 187 Huntsman outraged at ad targeting adopted daughters 154 Obama to help unveil ”realistic” military plan 131 Iran threatens action if U.S. carrier returns: IRNA Watched NZ cargo ship, Rena, splits in two Sun, Jan 8 2012 World's first chimeric monkeys are born Thu, Jan 5 2012 Bungee jumper plummets into Zimbabwe river Sun, Jan 8 2012 Electricity only reaches one in three Afghans Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Afghan girls throw punches, aim for Olympic gold Mon, Jan 2 2012 Exclusive: U.S. mulls transfer of senior Taliban prisoner Fri, Dec 30 2011 Exclusive: Afghanistan sets ground rules for Taliban Mon, Dec 26 2011 Suicide bomb kills at least 20 in northern Afghanistan Sun, Dec 25 2011 Bomb kills 5 Polish troops in Afghanistan Wed, Dec 21 2011 Analysis & Opinion Talking to the Taliban:an elusive peace in Afghanistan Are you ready for your embed? Related Topics World » Lifestyle » Afghanistan » An Afghan man repairs electricity cables along the streets of Kabul November 16, 2009. Credit: Reuters/Jerry Lampen By Agnieszka Flak KABUL | Mon Jan 9, 2012 2:37am EST KABUL (Reuters) - Only one in three Afghans has access to electricity despite years of spending to improve supply, and the country is still far too dependent on imported power, the head of the country's state owned power utility told Reuters. Abdul Razique Samadi, the chief executive officer at Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), said the situation in the capital, Kabul, is far better than the rest of the country, with around 70 percent of households connected. "Instead of having electricity for two hours, we have power for 24 hours and it is quite reliable," he told Reuters. About half of India's 1.2 billion people have no access to power and less than a third of sub-Saharan Africa is electrified. 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. Samadi estimates Afghanistan will need around 3,000 megawatts (MW) to meet the country's needs by 2020, compared with current supply of around 600 MW. 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. IMPORT SUPPORT 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 neighbors Iran, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. More than half of total supply comes from imports and that is unlikely to change in the near term, Samadi said. 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. "For now we are quite vulnerable. We are dependent and here we have a problem," Samadi said. 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. OVERDUE BILLS 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. There is currently around $200 million in donor funds flowing into the sector each year, but Samadi aims to make DABS more independent to negotiate the expected decline in foreign aid as most combat troops pull out by the end of 2014. The firm, which had turnover of $200 million in 2011, also urgently needs to strengthen its billing system, as it is currently owed around $40 million, mainly by the government. Samadi downplayed criticism that corruption has hampered revenue collection and the completion of projects. "Maybe 20 or 30 percent (of the allegations are justified). Still, the government, the donors are doing well," he said. "This is a very difficult country to work in. Even if it is only a 50 percent success, it's still a success," he said. (Reporting by Agnieszka Flak; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani) World Lifestyle Afghanistan Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Back to top Reuters.com Business Markets World Politics Technology Opinion Money Pictures Videos Site Index Legal Bankruptcy Law California Legal New York Legal Securities Law Support & Contact Support Corrections Advertise With Us Connect with Reuters Twitter Facebook LinkedIn RSS Podcast Newsletters Mobile About Privacy Policy Terms of Use Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance Our next generation legal research platform Our global tax workstation Thomsonreuters.com About Thomson Reuters Investor Relations Careers Contact Us Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

Other News on Monday, 9 January 2012
Yemen proposes immunity law to speed Saleh's exit |
Sarkozy gains ground on Socialist rival: poll |
Bashir says working with Libya to protect borders |
Bahrain eyes reforms to boost parliament's powers |
Musharraf to return to Pakistan, lead party in polls |
Algeria to buy 51 percent of Vimpelcom unit: report |
Beyonce gives birth to baby girl in NY: report |
Horror flick Devil surprises with $34.5 million |
Malaysian court clears Anwar of sodomy charges |
USGS says Magnitude 6.6 quake off Solomon Islands, no tsunami |
Venezuela's Chavez welcomes ally Ahmadinejad |
Iran sentences Iranian-U.S. man to death for spying |
Electricity only reaches one in three Afghans |
Debris from wrecked cargo ship washes onto New Zealand beaches |
Mideast governments fail to see scale of change: Amnesty |
China media flags trade talks launch with South Korea's Lee |
Musharraf to return to Pakistan, lead party in polls |
Tokyo bourse in final talks to keep Olympus listed: report |
Toshiba to enter U.S. smart home energy market |
Chinese authors sue Apple for copyright infringement: report |
American Idol producers unconcerned about competition |
Kiefer Sutherland to show paternal emotions in Touch |
Fox says no Glee spin-off, changes to X Factor |
Tiger Woods' former swing coach writes Tiger tales |
Arab monitors buy time for Assad-Syria opposition |
China nudges North and South Korea to reach out |
Mubarak-era figures recycle careers in rural Egypt |
Iran says enrichment starts in Fordow: state TV |
One shot dead, many wounded in Nigeria fuel protests |
China warns U.S. to be careful in military refocus |
World needs economic ethics, new rules, pope says |
Interview: Presidential frontrunner won't push Finland into NATO |
Netflix sparks price war with UK launch |
World's biggest tech show searching for wow |
GameStop says holiday sales up slightly |
Nestle to help pets and owners lose weight online |
McCartney's new album called Kisses on the Bottom |
Elton John to pen personal story about AIDS |
UK royals, Joey the horse share Spielberg red carpet |
Netflix may not turn profitable in 2012 |
Picasso, Mondrian paintings stolen from Greek gallery |
Netflix sparks price war with UK launch |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph		BlogMeter 1.01