Turkmenistan says Kerki–Kabul power line could supply up to 800 MW to Afghanistan

Afghanistan could receive up to 800 megawatts of electricity through the planned 500-kilovolt Kerki–Kabul transmission line, according to a Turkmen energy official, as Turkmenistan advances cross-border power projects aimed at expanding electricity supplies and regional energy cooperation.

According to News Central Asia, Murat Artykov, director of the Department for International Power Engineering Projects along the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan route at Turkmenistan’s Ministry of Energy, made the remarks at the international conference “Oil and Gas of Turkmenistan 2026” in Ashgabat.

Artykov said the Kerki–Kabul transmission line will extend 711 kilometres. Construction of the Sheberghan–Dasht-e-Alvan section is expected to be completed in the coming months, while the section connecting the Dasht-e-Alvan substation to the Arghandi substation in Kabul Province is scheduled to become operational in June 2027.

Turkmenistan is also developing infrastructure under the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan (TAP) power transmission project. Artykov said a 259-kilometre, double-circuit 220-kilovolt transmission line from the Mary State Power Plant to the Afghan border was completed in August 2021 and is ready to be connected to Afghanistan’s power system.

Another key development was the commissioning of the Nur ul-Jihad substation in Herat Province on September 11, 2024. According to Artykov, the facility doubled the volume of electricity supplied from Turkmenistan to the province.

Plans also include installing a 200-megavolt-ampere synchronous compensator at the Nur ul-Jihad substation and constructing an 80-kilometre, 220-kilovolt transmission line connecting the Pul-e-Hashemi, Nur ul-Jihad and 24 Hoot substations in Herat.

Artykov said more than 50 documents have been signed between the countries involved and investors in connection with the TAP project. A roadmap for further work in Afghanistan is expected to be agreed upon by the energy ministries of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan.

He added that expanding cross-border electricity infrastructure is intended not only to increase power supplies but also to support industrial development, strengthen social infrastructure and improve living standards across the region.