Iran asks Iraq hand over $500m of debt from power imports

TEHRAN,March 10(MNA) - Iran has asked Iraq to pay $500 million in debts, accrued from importing electricity from the Islamic Republic over the past three years, Iranian Energy Minister Majid Namjou said on Thursday. “We have urged the Iraqi side to find ways to settle the debt as soon as possible,” Namjou said in a meeting with his Iraqi counterpart in Tehran, according to ILNA news agency. Iraq will increase power imports from neighboring Iran from its existing level of 1 gigawatt to 1.15 gigawatts a day, an Iraqi electricity ministry spokesman said. The additional power will be imported via Iraq’s four supply lines from Iran “before the coming summer,” Masaab Serri said, Bloomberg reported. Iran currently trades power with Turkey, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq. By the end of the fifth five-year economic development plan (2015), Iran will boost its electricity generation capacity by 25 gigawatts to reach 73 gigawatts, Namjou said on February 7. The country’s electricity exports will total $1 billion by the end of this current calendar year (March 19, 2012).