Tehran hopes for commissioning of Iran-Armenia high-voltage line this  year 

ArmInfo. The issue related to the construction of the third power transmission line, designed to connect the electric power systems of Armenia and Iran, became the  subject of discussions held between the Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to Tehran Grigor Hakobyan and the Minister of Energy of the Islamic Republic of Iran Abbas Aliabadi.

As reported by the press service of the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia in the Islamic Republic of Iran, during the meeting the interlocutors discussed issues related to the cooperation of the two countries in the energy sector. Both sides emphasized the importance of implementing joint programs, in particular, they pointed out the need to complete the construction of the third high-voltage Iran-Armenia power transmission line this year.

I n November last year, the RA government issued a budget loan to the Iranian company Sunir, which is building a 400-kilovolt Iran-Armenia power transmission line. A contract was signed with the project contractor, Sunir, with the state enterprise High Voltage Networks of Armenia back in July 2006, according to which the contractor was obliged to perform the design, supply, construction, installation, testing and commissioning of the third 400 kV power transmission line  and the corresponding substation in a comprehensive volume. The total cost of the project is 106,847,237.51 euros. Of the project cost, 86,447,914 euros are financed by credit funds from the Export Development Bank of Iran, and the amount of 20,399,323.51 euros is financed by credit funds from Sunir International FZE. The deadline for completion of the work within the framework of the project was set for December 31, 2034.

The implementation of the project will increase the flow of  electricity between Armenia and Iran from 350 MW to 1200 MW, increase the level of security, reliability and stability of the energy system of Armenia, and it will be possible to fully use the capacity of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline within the framework of the Gas for Electricity program.

Earlier, ArmInfo reported that Armenia was carrying out a barter deal with Iran, according to which it receives 1 cubic meter of Iranian gas in exchange for 3 kWh of electricity in the opposite direction. With the construction of the third power transmission line, these volumes will increase significantly. However, the project to build the North-South energy corridor, designed to unite the electric power systems of Iran, Armenia, Georgia and Russia, has encountered a number of problems, primarily related to frequent postponements of the commissioning date of the facility. If the completion date of the Iran-Armenia power transmission line project was previously announced  for the end of 2018, at the end of December 2021, the responsible structures already stated that the line would be ready by the end of 2024.

As for the Armenia-Georgia power transmission line, the parties have not yet started its construction.