SIGAR: Inquiry into Afghan Power Plant, $335 Million USAID-Investment in Danger of Being Wasted
Today, SIGAR published an inquiry into the Tarakhil Power Plant outside of Kabul. The letter inquires as to the power plant’s ability to supply Kabul with back-up power, given the $335 million investment made by USAID, and reports of electrical shortages in Kabul following avalanches in northern Afghanistan in February 2015.
The letter notes:
- One reason for building the power plant was to help mitigate concerns about potential shortfalls in available power resulting from natural disasters.
- Although the project was plagued by cost overruns, poor contractor performance, and delays, the power plant was ultimately handed over to the Afghan government in June 2010.
- The Afghan government may be unwilling or unable to fully operate the power plant even during emergency situations, such as the February 2015 avalanches that knocked out Kabul’s primary power supply.
- In June 2014, the USAID Office of Inspector General (OIG) completed a review assessing the power plant. The results of the review were alarming, including that the power plant has been severely underused, operating at just 2.2% of power production capacity, and that the Afghan national power utility could not afford to operate the power plant, with an estimated $245 million per year needed for the fuel alone.
- In response to the review, USAID stated that corrective measures to assist the Afghan government and national power utility in operating the power plant would be implemented no later than December 31, 2014, approximately two months before the tragic avalanches. The blackouts and lack of power throughout Kabul resulting from the avalanches raise questions regarding the efficacy of those actions.