Iran's electricity exports to neighbours hits record

Iran's Energy Ministry official in charge of foreign exchanges Abdolhamid Farzam said on Wednesday that the country hit a new record last year by exporting more than 8.6 billion kilowatt hours of electricity to neighboring countries. Last year, he said, Iran's total electricity exports increased by about 30 percent compared to one year before. In February, Iranian Minister of Energy Majid Namjou had also announced that Iran plans to increase export of power supplies to the neighboring and regional states, including Syria and Lebanon. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a meeting with his Syrian counterpart Imad Mohammad Deeb Khamis, Namjou said Iran will export electricity to Syria and Lebanon through Iraq's power grid. He said Iran is capable of exporting 1,000 megawatts (MW) of power to Iraq. He added that Syria has also demanded 500 MW of electricity from Iran. "Iran is also able to export 50-100 MW of electricity to Lebanon through Syria," Namjou said.