Iran’s Energy Minister Ali Akbar Mehrabian says a first step has been taken to synchronize Iranian and Russian electricity grids.
Mehrabian said on Sunday that Iran will carry out various synchronization attempts between its power grid and those of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia to finally link to Russia’s electricity network.
“An initial synchronization with Russia has been carried out and we will perform technical works to synchronize electricity networks of Iran, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia to be able to have electricity link-up with Russia,” said the minister.
He said Iran seeks to stabilize its electricity supplies through a link to the Russian power network, adding that the Energy Ministry is currently boosting its technical capabilities to expand the project.
Iran has experienced minor power cuts in recent years mainly because of an unexpected rise in demand for natural gas which has forced shutdowns in the country’s power plants.
That has forced the country to increase its imports of electricity from Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan in peak consumption days during summers and winters to stabilize supplies to its populous northern regions. That is in addition to Iran's normal electricity imports from Armenia which is paid for by exports of natural gas to the Caucasus country.
That comes as Iran has introduced plans to increase its electricity output in order to ramp up exports to countries like Iraq and Afghanistan.
Experts say a synchronization of power grids of Iran and Russia will enable Iran to launch electricity exports to Qatar and other countries in the region.