Iran has started importing limited electricity from neighboring Turkmenistan amid increased consumption of power caused by rising temperatures and increased crypto mining, Iran’s Press TV reported on Wednesday.
Mostafa Rajabi, a spokesman of Iran’s state electricity company Tavanir, said Turkmenistan would supply 140 megawatts of electricity to Iran’s northeastern Khorasan province through Iran's border region of Sarakhs, according to the report.
He noted that supplies could increase in the future as Iran and Turkmenistan were implementing a first phase of their agreement on electricity transfer.
“This amount can respond to a part of demand (for electricity) in Khorasan region,” Rajabi said.
Mohammad Alayi, a local Energy Ministry official in Khorasan province, said that Turkmenistan had already started supplying 130 MW of electricity to the power grid in the region.
Alayi emphasized that supplies would continue until the end of summer season in late September, adding that imports from Turkmenistan are meant to prevent any power cuts in eastern regions of Iran.
Iranian Energy Ministry has indicated that power plants in the country have been working at almost full capacity in recent weeks to respond to a growing demand for power.
Turkmenistan aims to increase its annual electricity production to 33 billion kilowatt-hours by 2024. In order to achieve this goal, the country modernizes the existing production facilities. In 2018, Turkmenistan commissioned its first combined cycle power plant in Mary velayat.