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Power shortages get worse in Central Asia
September 24th, 2009
http://www.mnweekly.ru/news/20090226/55368638.html
Power shortages get worse in Central Asia
By Peter Leonard
ALMATY, Kazakhstan – Kazakhstan announced on Thursday it was pulling out of the Central Asian power grid to protect its energy supplies, a move that forced rolling blackouts and electricity rationing on Kyrgyzstan, its tiny, power-starved neighbour.
it looks like this will affect most of central asia in some way as electricity rich nations leave the grid. Directly for us, this will mean a US military base :
A solution to Kyrgyzstan’s energy problem appears distant, especially amid the global financial meltdown.
President Kurmanbek Bakiyev recently secured $2.15 billion in aid and loans from Russia. Shortly after, lawmakers voted to close a U.S. military base near Bishkek.
However, if the base shuts down, Bishkek will forgo $150 million in rent and other payments from Washington, a sum that approaches 2 per cent of the Kyrgyz gross domestic product.
Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistanare former Soviet republics in the area north of Afghanistan and Iran. They are the home of many former soviet industrial plants and waste dumps for chemicals and radioactive waste. Kazakhstan is also home to the Baikonur Cosmodrome, where Russia launches all her Soyuz spacecraft.
This area used to be where the Silk Road went through, connecting China and Europe. Lots of rail connections exist making it possible to link China and Iran by rail. China and Iran have the same narrower gauge railroads, the former soviet republics use the wider gauge soviet era rails. Yards for switching trains from one gauge to another exist. This area could become a transportation and staging area for an invasion of the middle east by China or Russia.
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