Azerbaijan started to export electricity to Iran on June 1, the country's major electricity producer, Azerenerji JSC, announced.
Yahya Babanli, Azerenerji's spokesman, said the company has started to transfer 80 megawatts of electricity to Moghan and Astara regions in northwestern Iran, IRNA reported.
The capacity is slated to increase to meet the two sides' terms of agreement. Iran reached an agreement with Azerbaijan in March to purchase 180 megawatts of electricity from the Caucasian country to prevent a potential power shortage in summer.
Under swap deals, Iran exports electricity to Armenia and Azerbaijan in winter and imports it when domestic demand soars in summer. The country trades electricity with four neighbors on its northwestern and western borders, namely Azerbaijan Republic, Turkey, Armenia and Iraq.
Power demand is forecast to exceed 56,000 MW this summer. Despite an installed power generation capacity of around 77,000 MW, actual output is insufficient to meet peak-hour demand.
According to energy outlets, Baku and Tehran have capacities to exchange 700 MW of electricity. In fact, Iran can act as a transit corridor to European countries. Babanli said working groups of the three countries are planned to meet by the end of June.
Tehran and Baku have trilateral and multilateral agreements with other partners in the region, including Georgia and Russia.
Talks will be held on linking the electricity networks of Iran, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Russia.
According to Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Iran Bunyad Huseynov, Iran's transit route, compared to other routes, is more economic and 40% cheaper in terms of costs and 60% shorter in terms of time. In late 2016, the two neighbors agreed on power grid synchronization. The two countries embarked on transmission of 500 MW of electricity to and from Iran in summer and winter respectively.
