TEHRAN (Tasnim) Iran has accepted Iraq's demand to increase the volume of electricity export by 500 megawatts, an Iranian deputy energy minister said.The agreement was finalized in a meeting between the two countries energy ministers on Monday evening in Tehranand the technical, engineering, and the required transmission lines for this higher level of exports are under study, Esmail Mahsouli said.
He also said that an Iranian consultant electrical engineering firm is currently studying the issue of synchronizing the two countries electricity networks.
Mahsouli said that the Iranian companies enjoy good ties with the Iraqi electrical sector, adding that Iranian firms have constructed a number of thermal power plants in Baghdad and that another power plant is under construction by an Iranian company.
Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian told Tasnim News Agency on September 28 that Iran has energy exchange projects with all countries with which it shares a land border, namely Iraq, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
He added that the Iranian electricity industry is recognized today as the regions energy hub and that foreign demand for Iran's electricity outstrips its export capacity.
"The power grids of Iran and Russia can be connected either through Azebaijan or Turkmenistan, which raises issues such as power transit and even increased energy imports by these two countries from Iran, and such issues will be addressed in future negotiations," the minister said.
The countrys electricity industry earned $800 million in energy exports last year.
Managing Director of Iran Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution Management Company (TAVANIR) Homayoun Hayeri said in September that Iran is also after exchanging electricity with the countries on the southern shores of the Persian Gulf through submarine cables and that it enjoys the required international standards for connecting the countrys national electricity network to the European network.
Iran electricity industry ranks 14th in the world and first in the Middle East in terms of electricity generation by having an installed power generation capacity of 67,806 MW, Hayeri had said earlier.
Earlier in May, Iranian Deputy Energy Minister Mohammad Behzad announced that the country's electricity exports have increased 40% since the beginning of the current Iranian year (started March 21), and said Tehran has signed several contracts with the neighboring states for export of electricity.
In July, the Iranian Energy Ministry announced that electricity exports to neighboring states exceeded 1,000 megawatts.
By Tasnim News Agency
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