At least 11 provinces in central, southern and southeastern Afghanistan went dark on Sunday as Taliban blew up three power pylons in northern Baghlan province during their clashes with Afghan forces.
Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), the state-run power utility, said the importing power has been completely cut as at least three masts have been blown up by Taliban militants.
“Three pylons of the transmission line that transfers importing electricity to central Afghanistan were blown up at 10:52 am local time on Sunday,” the statement read.
According to the statement, militants destroyed the power pylons in Balak Mirzad Hasan Tal Village of Baghlan.
The statement further added that the militants detonated improvised explosive devices near the power pylons, cutting electricity supply to Kabul and several other provinces in the South and South-east.
The power company also added that the militants had earlier destroyed power pylons in Dand-e Shahabuddin of Baghlan and Buz Kandahari of Kunduz province.
Meanwhile, the company stated that the technical staff was busy reconnecting the power transmission lines.
In a separate incident Taliban also cut the transmission line to central Ghani province in Maidan Wardak province.
Breshana Sharkat said that militant cut the line at least in 10 different locations, adding that technical team was sent to reconnect the line, but the ongoing fighting prevented them from doing so.
The company said that electricity and institution related to power are public assets so any kind of damage to it is damage to the entire nation.
It called on all Afghans, including warring sides, to not only avoid causing any damage to it, but also preserve them as public asset.
This comes as Taliban have said on several occasions that militants of the group are not involved in damage to national and public institutions.
Despite having adequate water resources for electricity generation, Afghanistan has largely remain reliant on importing electricity, most of which is being imported from northern neighboring countries in Central Asia.
