Iran, India to ink new power deal

TEHRAN, March 4 (MNA) - Iranian and Indian energy ministers are scheduled to sign a deal in Tehran today, aimed at exporting electricity from Iran to India. “New Delhi has announced its readiness to import 5-6 gigawatts of electricity from Iran,” deputy energy minister Mohammad Behzad recently said. He had said that the power would be transmitted over land and not through submarine cables. By the end of the fifth five-year economic development plan (2015), Iran will boost its electricity generation capacity by 25 gigawatts (GW) to reach 73GW, Energy Minister Majid Namjou said on February 7. Deputy energy minister Mohammad Behzad has said that the country’s electricity exports would amount to $1 billion by the end of this calendar year (March 19, 2012). Iran currently trades electricity with Turkey, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq.