7 States Join Iran's Power Grid

Iran's electricity network has integrated to power grids of seven neighboring countries to meet their energy demands, says Iranian Minister Energy (Water & Electricity) Majid Namjou. Iran's electricity grid is currently connected to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, Namjou said. The Iranian minister further pointed out that Tehran also plans to connect its national power network to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Earlier this year, Namjou said that Russia, India, Qatar, the UAE, Jordan, Syria and Oman are the new countries that have asked Iran for electricity. According to the Iranian minister, the country has the capability to turn into a regional electricity hub. "Iran exchanges electricity with most of its neighbors and many of them are interested in increasing their electricity exchange with Iran" Namjou was quoted as saying.

Iran plans to connect its power grid to Russia via Azerbaijan as well as linking to the GCC states via sub-sea cabling. The minister also stated that Iran has attracted more that US$1.1 billion in investment to build three new power plants. "Germany has invested US$445 million in construction of the Pareh-Sar combined cycle power plant, while the UAE has invested US$720 million in construction of the Esfahan gas power plant and the Fars combined cycle power plant," Namjou concluded. - Press TV