Tehran, Doha to connect power grids via undersea cable
The CEO of Tavanir, Iran’s state electricity company, announced on Saturday that measures are underway to establish an undersea power connection with Qatar.
Mostafa Rajabi-Mashhadi stated that a virtual meeting was held last week, as an in-person meeting is scheduled to take place in Qatar within the next month to finalize technical studies to begin operational work.
Talking to ILNA, the official discussed the strategic importance of synchronizing Iran’s power grid with Russia and Azerbaijan, noting that Iran currently imports 500 megawatts of electricity from Turkmenistan and Armenia during the winter and has agreements, known as AIR and AGIR, with Azerbaijan and Russia to receive up to 300 megawatts.
Rajabi-Mashhadi highlighted that although Iran has never imported electricity from Azerbaijan during the winter, improved political relations now enable electricity exchange among Iran, Russia, and Azerbaijan.
He added that the current 300-megawatt exchange could increase to 1,000 megawatts as transmission lines are expanded.
The official also mentioned an upcoming trilateral meeting between the energy ministers of Iran, Russia, and Azerbaijan to further develop electrical connections.
Regarding Armenia’s recent announcement of its ability to increase electricity exports to Iran by 400 megawatts, Rajabi-Mashhadi explained that this would be possible with the completion of Armenia’s third transmission line.
He noted that the line is 90% complete and represents a significant step in enhancing energy cooperation between the two countries.