In 2018, Armenia will be technically able to export electricity to Russia via the territory of Georgia, Areg Galstyan, Deputy Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Armenia, said at a seminar organized by the Armenian Institute of International and Security Affairs, Wednesday.
He said it will become possible due to the organized parallel operation of the power systems of Armenia and Georgia. To that end, a power transmission line with a capacity of 400KV is being built. This 300-million-EUR project will be implemented in three phases. In 2018, the first phase for 105 million EUR will be completed and the parallel operation of the two power systems will become possible. The second phase - up to 2021 - will cost 100 million EUR and the third one - up to 2025 - will require 125 million EUR. After the project is implemented, Armenia will have a power transmission line able to supply up to 1,000MW electricity in a synchronous regime. In addition, Armenia will get access to the Eurasian Union market. In such case, Armenia will get an opportunity to transit electricity via the power transmission line connecting the power grids of Armenia and Iran. This will make it possible to implement the North-South energy project. German KfW Bank and the European Investment Bank are making solid investments in the project. The first phase of the project costs 105.2 million EUR. KfW will provide an 85.2-million-EUR project (75-million-EUR own funds and 10.2 million EUR from German Government). European Investment Bank provided 10 million EUR and the European Commission provided another 10 million EUR grant.
The power grids will be connected through the 400KV Hrazdan power substation and the substation, which is under construction in Ayrum (Armenia) and the 500KV Marneuli substation (Georgia). Now the power transmission is organized through the power island near Tbilisi, Georgia. When the two power grids start operating simultaneously, Armenia will get an opportunity to connect to the power grip of the South Federal District of Russia and export electricity in an asynchronous regime. Under the project, Direct Current Links will be built on the border to ensure simultaneous operation of the Armenian and Georgian power grids in the asynchronous regime. According to Galstyan, several agreements, including an agreement of energy transit, have been signed with Georgia to ensure successful implementation of the project.
Armenia generates nearly 6 billion kWh of electricity every day. The country's power generation capacities may reach 1- billion kWh. The surplus electricity can be exported. At present, three power transmission line connect the power grids of Armenia and Georgia: Alaverdi -2 (220KV), Lalvar (110KV), and Ashotsk (110KV).