Despite Iran’s willingness to raise power exports to Pakistan, the latter lacks the infrastructure to boost electricity import, the spokesman of the Iran Power Generation, Distribution and Transmission Company (Tavanir) said.
“Tavanir has extended power transmission lines to Pakistan’s border, but Islamabad has done almost nothing to develop its infrastructure,” Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi was also quoted as saying by Bargh News.
Although power exports have declined due to rising domestic demand in summer, Tavanir is expected to resume electricity sale from October, he added.
In 2002, Pakistan signed a deal with Iran to import 34 megawatts of power per year.
“The agreement later raised that volume to 104 MW per annum via three transmission lines,” he said, adding that the volume has not changed since then due to the underdeveloped infrastructure of Pakistan.
Rajabi said a 132-kilovolt line carries electricity from Jakigur in Sistan-Baluchestan to the town of Mand in Pakistan.
Two other 20-kV power lines send 4 MW of electricity combined to the neighboring country from Mirjaveh and Saravan in Iran’s southeast.
Regarding a 230-kV power transmission line to the Pakistani port of Gwadar, the Tavanir spokesman said the line, which starts from Polan region in Chabahar, is yet to become operational.
“After the completion of this line, Iran’s power export to Pakistan could reach 300 MW,” he added.
Under the previous government in Tehran, it had been decided that new infrastructure would be created for exporting and added 1,000 MW to Pakistan and consultants from both sides were set to carry out feasibility studies.
Rajabi said the project stalled soon apparently because Islamabad was unable to fund the construction of 500 kilometers of power lines in its own territory.
Energy experts and the former energy minister, Reza Ardakanian, are of the opinion that importing electricity from Iran is the best possible option for Pakistan.
According to Pakistani news outlets, from chronic load shedding to electricity theft, as well as heavy transmission and distribution losses due to massive non-payment of dues, the country's power sector is prone to every problem imaginable despite attempts by various governments over the years to fix the system.
Over 140 million Pakistanis (of the total 197 million population) either have no access to the power grid or have to make do with over 12 hours of load shedding every day.
The average power shortfall is 4,000 megawatts.
Iran's electricity industry is 14th in the world in terms of output. It is the largest exporter and importer of electricity in the Middle East and exports power to Pakistan, Turkey, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Azerbaijan and Armenia supply power to Iran under swap agreements.
