Iran halts electricity supply to Turkey due to $200 mln debt

PanARMENIAN.Net - Deputy energy minister announced that Iran has ceased exports of electricity to Turkey due to a $200 million debt on the part of the neighboring country, Mehr News Agency said.

Deputy Energy Minister Hoshang Falahatian noted that electricity exports to Turkey were terminated a few months ago adding “the main cause of the halt has been non-payment of outstanding debts by the Turkish firm who purchases power from Iran.”

“Debts of the Turkish buyer amounts to about $200 million,” said the official adding “despite the hiatus in exports, talks have begun over settlement of debts and resumption of electricity exports to the neighboring state.”

He expected that the Turkish firm will be able to retire its debts to Iran within four or five months; “exports will be resumed only if the Turkish sides pays off all existing debts.”

Exports of Iranian electricity to Turkey have come to a halt at a time when Iraq, as the largest buyer of Iran’s electricity, owes about one billion dollars to the Ministry of Energy.

Turkish media, on causes of the cessation in electricity imports, had previously announced that due to the high volume of spring rains in Turkey, the country’s dams were overflowing with water and the increase in water inventory has led to a rise in electricity generation which in turn alleviated the need to import electricity from Iran.

Currently, Iran is able to export 400 megawatts of electricity to the neighboring country per hour thanks to construction and implementation of new transmission lines.

Iran’s Energy Ministry and a Turkish firm have recently inked a contract to produce new power plants worth four billion dollars.