Operations to synchronize the electricity grids of Iran and Russia have been conducted successfully and the two states will start exchange exchange soon.
Iran’s Energy Minister Ali Akbar Mehrabian made the statement on the sidelines of the 22nd Iran International Electricity Exhibition that opened on Nov. 20 at the Tehran International Fairground, the Energy Ministry’s news service reported.
“To maximize power exchange and help stabilize power supply in the region, technical and operational procedures are underway to harmonize the electricity grids of Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia, and all those networks will be connected in the near future,” he said.
“Trading power with neighboring states, including Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Armenia, is a top priority of the Energy Ministry. The synchronization scheme is expected to help Iran and Russia exchange electricity in summer and winter. Russia will receive power between November and March when demand reaches a low point in Iran and Russia will supply Iran with power between June and August when domestic demand peaks.”
According to Mehrabian, Iran has to synchronize its power grid with that of Russia because otherwise it will have to invest billions of dollars to build new power stations to bridge the widening gap between supply and demand that currently stands at 10,000 MW.
The minister noted that there are two routes through which Iran’s power grid can be connected to Russia’s: one is via Republic of Azerbaijan and the other through Armenia and Georgia.
Iran is pursuing plans to connect its power grid with Europe, and Armenia, a nation of about 3 million people northwest of Iran, is seen as playing a key role in the linkup.
Boosting Exchange
By setting up a regional electricity grid and boosting current power exchanges, Iran can connect its network with Georgia, Turkey, Slovenia and other European states through Armenia.
In 2015, Iran and Azerbaijan signed an MoU on the exchange of electricity.
Mehrabian said Iran’s annual electricity export to neighbors is close to 6 billion kilowatt hours with the bulk going to Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq.
Azerbaijan and Armenia supply close to 700 MW to Iran under a swap agreement.
“In 2018, Azerbaijan, Russia and Iran created a working group to conduct feasibility studies to synchronize their power systems, which has now been completed,” he said.
The workgroup included 18 people (six from each side) with a mandate for undertaking a feasibility study on integrating the power systems of the three Caspian states to create the North-South power corridor.
In 2020, Azeri Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow and voiced his country's support for the implementation of joint projects, including the construction of the International North-South Transportation Corridor.
Construction work is underway to complete the third Iran-Armenia power transmission line, which will boost electricity trade not only between the two countries but also with Georgia and Russia.
Work on the high-voltage transmission line is expected to become complete by fall. The line is designed to boost Armenia’s electricity export to Iran that is paid for with natural gas via a 140-km gas pipeline.
As per the 2004 deal, Iran sells gas to Armenia and in exchange imports electricity in summer.
Natural Gas
Iran's natural gas is used by the republic to generate electricity that is exported to Iran.
Armenia annually exports 350 megawatts of electricity to Iran. With the completion of the third line, this volume would reach 1 gigawatt.
Expansion of the line is seen as necessary to synchronize Iran’s power grid with Georgia.
According to data released by the Energy Ministry and the state-run Iran Power Generation, Distribution and Transmission Company, the objective of the four-day event is to act as a comprehensive resource for those active in the industry, by providing in-depth information about its status and latest trends influencing its progress.
The exhibition, which will end on Nov. 23, covers a variety of fields, including lighting, wire and cable, electrical panels, electrical equipment, automation and instrumentation systems, and transmission lines, and is open to the public.
A total of 372 prominent electrical companies, equipment manufacturers and vendors from Iran, South Korea, Spain, China, Italy, Turkey, Germany, Finland and Japan are participating in the exhibition.
