Pakistan, Iran to increase electricity exchange

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Iran have signed a contract to increase their electricity exchange, according to the official Iranian news agency IRNA.

The contract was signed in a ceremony in Tehran attended by Iran's Energy Minister Ali-Akbar Mehrabian and visiting Energy Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan.

Under the deal, the electricity exchange capacity between the two countries via the newly built 132-kilovolt transmission lines will increase by 100 megawatts (MW) to reach 200 MW in the first phase.

In the second phase, the two countries will install 70 kilometres of 230-kilovolt electricity transmission lines in Pakistan to raise the electricity exchange capacity to 400 MW.

Iran's electricity network is currently linked with several neighbouring states, which improved the sustainability of the country's power network, said the Iranian energy minister.