TEHRAN- Iran is considering increasing the export of electricity toPakistan in an effort to become a regional hub in power generation andsupply, Iran’s state media agency IRNA reported.
“Given the fact that neighbouring countries, especially Afghanistan andPakistan, need electricity, necessary measures should be adopted to linkIran’s power grid to theirs,” Davoud Manzour, deputy executive director ofIran Power Generation, Distribution and Transmission Company, said.
Manzour said, the country is expected to turn into a regional hub in powergeneration and supply.
In January, Iran’s Deputy Energy Minister for planning and economic affairsAlireza Daemi said Iran hoped to boost power exchanges with regionalcountries, especially its neighbors.
He said Iran planned to increase electric exchanges with regionalcountries, including Russia, Tajikistan and the Persian Gulf states.
“The current power grid network and the exchanges of electricity enableIran to be connected to Georgia via Armenia’s power grid and to Sloveniaand Europe via Turkey,” he said.
According to IRNA, Iran already exports nearly 190 megawatt-hours ofelectricity to Afghanistan.
The news agency reported that since March 21, the start of the currentsolar year, more than 48,000 megawatts of electricity has been exported toAfghanistan through Dogharoun distribution post.
This electricity provides 13,000 households in Afghanistan with power, IRNAreported.
Iran is the largest exporter and importer of electricity in the Middle Eastand currently exports power to Pakistan, Turkey, Iraq and Afghanistan,according to Iran’s Financial Tribune newspaper.
In addition, Iran exports electricity to Armenia and Azerbaijan in winterand imports it when domestic demand soars in summer, under swap deals.
The country also signed an agreement to export electricity with India alongwith Pakistan in 2012, in which Iran agreed to deliver 4,000 megawatt toIndia through Pakistan.
According to the latest data released last October, Iran’s electricityexports rose nearly 25 percent between March and September from the sameperiod a year ago.
“Around 5.16 million kilowatt-hours of electricity were exported toneighbors in six months compared to 4.14 million kilowatt-hours in thefirst half of the previous fiscal year, up more than one millionkilowatt-hours,” Iran’s Deputy Energy Minister for Electricity and EnergyAffairs Houshang Falahatian was also quoted as saying.