Tarakhil thermal power station

Background:

The Tarakhil Power Plant is an oil-fired electricity-producing power plant near Kabul, Afghanistan. Backed by USAID, the plant came online in 2009.The plant, built at a cost of $335 million USD and designed to provide a more reliable electricity source for Kabul, has typically operated at a fraction of its capacity and provided meagre annual outputs of electricity. A 2015 report cited the plant's average annual output as 2% of its capacity, due to the high cost of importing diesel fuel into Afghanistan.Press reports have frequently referred to the plant as the "white elephant of Kabul".

Land for the plant was donated by Afghan president Hamid Karzai in 2007. Construction, executed by the US firm Black & Veatch, began the same year. The plant was opened in 2009. While USAID had estimated that the plant would cost only $120 million USD, it ultimately cost $335 million.

At full capacity, the plant burns 600,000 litres (130,000 imp gal; 160,000 US gal) of diesel fuel per day. Designed to provide a more reliable electricity source for Kabul, from July 2010 to December 2013, the plant produced 2.2 percent of its rated nameplate capacity. Between 2014 and 2015, the plant produced less than 0.5% of Kabul's electricity needs.

Imported electricity from Uzbekistan has been disconnected due to technical issues. DABS official Safiullah Ahmadzai said that Islamic Emirate officials are negotiating with Uzbekistan officials about the reconnection of power supply to the country. He said to address the lack of electricity in Kabul, the company has activated the Tarakhil thermal power station.(20230114)

Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) said in a statement 20250624 that it has activated the 105-megawatt Tarakhil thermal power plant to help mitigate prolonged power outages in Kabul. DABS emphasized that while the operation of the plant comes with significant financial costs due to its reliance on fuel, the company remains fully committed to ensuring uninterrupted electricity supply to its customers, especially during the hot season when demand peaks, according to the statement. The power generated by the Tarakhil plant is being integrated with electricity from other domestic and imported sources and distributed through the national grid to meet the growing needs of residents and businesses, the statement added.(20250625)