Iran has started the process of linking its electrical system to Russia’s grid.
The country’s power network is expected to become more stable as a result of the interconnection, making it easier to import and export electricity. The initial synchronisation between Iran’s power grid and that of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan has been implemented, according to the Iranian Ministry of Energy. Synchronisation refers to the process by which electrical systems’ frequencies are matched. Though Iran does not directly share border with Russia, it plans to establish the connection through its neighbour Azerbaijan which shares border with Russia. In November 2019, Iraq became the first neighbour to synchronise its national electrical grid with that of Iran. Iran’s power grid is already connected to Iraq, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Of late, Iran is experiencing power shortages owing to increase in demand for natural gas, which has resulted in forced shutdowns at many of the country’s power generation facilities. This has led to growth in electricity import from Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan during peak demand periods.