Armenia-Georgia high-voltage line to be ready for operation in four  years - official 

ArmInfo. "We do not operate in a synchronous zone with the energy system of Iran, and our neighbor Georgia does not operate in a synchronous zone with Russia, for this reason it is necessary to synchronize the operation of the electric power networks of Iran, Armenia and Georgia," said Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of Armenia Hakob Vardanyan during a session on "Prospects and advantages of participants in the common electricity market of the EAEU in centralized electricity trade", which took place during the Eurasian  Forum. 

According to the deputy minister, Armenia currently does not have the  opportunity to operate in a synchronous mode with Georgia. "But we  are already in the process of planning the construction of a third  power transmission line with this country, which will make it  possible to work in parallel mode. We really need this also because  the Armenian electric power system is small, and integration will  increase our energy security," Vardanyan emphasized.

At this stage, according to the Deputy Minister, Armenia is working  with Georgia in an island mode.  During the Soviet era, the country  was connected to the general system through Azerbaijan, but after the  collapse of the USSR, Armenia began to work synchronously only with  Iran. "We need a DC substation.  We have a decision to remain in a  synchronous mode with Iran and build a substation on the border with  Georgia. I think that in a maximum of 4 years, the entire  infrastructure will be ready," Vardanyan said.  When asked about the  volume of electricity in question, even in the case of working with  Georgia in an island mode, the Deputy Minister noted that we are  talking about a maximum of 150 MW. "When we start working in parallel  mode, the volume will be 350 MW at the first stage, but there is an  opportunity to increase the capacity of electricity flows to 1200 MW  if there is market demand," he emphasized.

The North-South energy corridor construction project, designed to  unite the electric power systems of Iran, Armenia, Georgia and  Russia, has encountered a number of problems. Initially, the  construction projects of 400/500-kilovolt Iran-Armenia and  Armenia-Georgia power lines were planned to be completed by the end  of 2019. Meanwhile, as of today, the work on the Iran-Armenia power  line has been completed by 65-70%, and the construction of the  Armenia-Georgia power line has not yet begun. According to the  project, it is planned to build a 400-kV Iran-Armenia power line and  a 500-kV Armenia-Georgia power line. For these purposes, it is  planned to build 2 electrical substations "Ayrum" and "Ddmashen" on  the border of Georgia.  The preliminary cost of the Armenia-Georgia  power line construction program, according to FICHTNER, is 326.9  million euros, 10% of which should be part of Georgia's contribution.  For these purposes, three loan agreements were signed in 2014-2015.  In particular, 168 million euros were allocated as a loan by the  German bank KfW, another 10 million euros were provided by the  European Investment Bank. It is expected to receive another 10  million euros as a grant from the European Commission. As for the  Iran- Armenia high-voltage power transmission line, the financing of  this project is carried out by the Iranian side, the total cost of  the program is $107 million.