Iran and Azerbaijan have taken effective steps to synchronize their power grids to boost the exchange of electricity, a deputy energy minister said in a statement.
"Iran and Azerbaijan have the capacity to exchange 500 megawatts of power in the synchronized mode and up to 200 MW under the islanding scheme," Houshang Falahatian was also quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency on Tuesday.
Islanding refers to the condition in which a generator continues to power a location even though power grid from the electric utility is no longer present.
He stressed that part of Azerbaijan's power grid was disconnected from Russia's grid last week to be synchronized with Iran's electricity network.
According to reports, Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian visited Baku this week to finalize the synchronization in a meeting with the executives of AzerEnergy CJSC, the largest electrical power producer in Azerbaijan.
The meeting was part of wide-ranging talks between Iran, Russia and Azerbaijan in the Azeri capital this week.
Iran’s electricity industry ranks 14th in the world and first in the Middle East in terms of electricity generation with an installed capacity of 75,000 MW.
The country is the largest exporter and importer of electricity in the Middle East and exports electricity to Armenia, Pakistan, Turkey, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Azerbaijan and Armenia supply electricity to Iran under a swap agreement.
According to Chitchian, Iran is keen on attracting $50 billion in investment in its electricity sector, including $35 billion in power production and $15 billion in transmission projects.
