Iran, Azerbaijan to increase electricity trade to 500 MW

Iran and Azerbaijan will increase their electricity trade to 500 megawatts (MW), Iran's Deputy Minister of Energy Houshang Falahatian said.

The needed electricity trade infrastructures will be completed within one month, Falahatian said, state-run IRINN TV reported May 26.

He said that currently electricity trade between Tehran and Baku stands at 10 MW, expressing hope that the figure will increase once the infrastructure construction is completed.

Azerbaijan has very little share in Iran's annual 10.24-billion kWh electricity energy export, according to the annual report of Iran's Energy Ministry.

The country's share from Iran's 4.1 billion KWh electricity energy import stood at 0.1 percent in last Iranian fiscal year (ended March 20).

Iran and Azerbaijan plan to connect their electricity networks. The two countries signed a MoU on electricity swap last December, which envisages linking the two countries' power networks and exchange of electricity.

According to Mahmoud Vaezi, Iran's ICT minister, the connection of Iranian and Azerbaijani power networks will also lead to linking them with Russian and Georgian electricity networks.

Early in February Azerbaijani Minister of Energy Natig Aliyev said that Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia are working on the establishment of the North-South energy corridor among the three countries.

/By Trend/