Overview

PTEC will help expand and improve Afghanistan’s electric transmission system and increase the capacity of the national electric utility, Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), and the Ministry of Energy and Water (MEW).  Electrification will be a key driver for economic growth and modernization in Afghanistan.  Expansion of NEPS from Kabul to the Southern Electric Power System (SEPS) in Helmand and Kandahar Provinces is a high priority of Afghanistan.  The NEPS to SEPS transmission line is being implemented as a multi-donor effort by USAID and Asian Development Bank (ADB). 

Currently, approximately 9 million Afghans have access to the national power grid.  The NEPS to SEPS transmission line will have the capability to provide affordable, reliable and sustainable power to an additional 1.1 million underserved and non-served Afghans in the major population centers along the Highway 1 economic corridor and in Kandahar when ADB’s Turkmenistan to Kabul transmission line is completed in 2018-2020.  The transmission line will initially provide power to displace high-cost diesel generated power.  USAID will implement PTEC through a broad partnership with the Afghan Government, which includes DABS and the Ministry of Finance.  PTEC is on schedule to be completed by December 2016.

Activities

• Capacity Building for DABS: Provide technical assistance to DABS to effectively manage, operate, and maintain the national power system.  This activity will focus on increasing cost recovery, reducing technical and commercial losses, and improving DABS management and technical departments.
• Expand, Strengthen, and Integrate the North East Power System (NEPS)
• Construct 122 km of the 490 km NEPS to SEPS Connection from Arghandi to Ghazni.  At the request of GIRoA, PTEC funds will be transferred to the Afghanistan Infrastructure Trust Fund managed by ADB to construct the remaining 368 km of the NEPS to SEPS transmission line.
• Expand NEPS to critical areas by constructing a substation at the Salang Tunnel to displace high-cost diesel generated power and a transmission line from Jalalabad to the Hisare Shahi Industrial Park to stimulate economic growth and provide job opportunities..
• Improve NEPS by rehabilitating or upgrading transmission lines, substations, distribution systems, and power facilities in Kabul to increase reliability and reduce power outages.
• Hire a Construction Management Consultant (CMC) to assist DABS in administration of construction contracts and oversight of construction activities.
• Capacity Building for MEW: Provide technical assistance to build MEW’s capacity to set energy policy and regulation, plan projects, and work on trans-boundary water issues needed to develop Afghanistan’s large hydro-power resources.  This activity also includes improvements to MEW’s Vocational Training Center and educational facilities to provide comprehensive energy related courses for MEW and DABS staff, and for educational institutions to produce qualified graduates that can be hired by these agencies.    

Achievements

• Tenders for DABS capacity building, the Arghandi to Ghazni Transmission Line, and the CMC have been released.
• USAID, DABS, and ADB have agreed to transfer $417.6 million from PTEC to AITF with $140 million obligated to AITF so far.