The reason stems from Tajikistan’s dependence on hydropower for electricity. In the summer, Tajikistan’s rivers produce excess power. In the winter, rivers slow and freeze, causing water levels at dams to plummet and hydropower generation to dwindle. At the same time, general demand for electricity – for heat – rises. To conserve energy, the state-owned utility company rations electricity. And Aly-Jon and his family resort to burning coal in their stove.

Tajikistan’s rivers could provide enough energy to meet more than three times the current energy demand of all of Central Asia, according to government statistics. Realizing that potential, though, is a matter of development and time. For now, there is not enough energy to power