The Turkish cabinet approved a Memorandum of Understanding for an electricity interconnection between Georgia and Turkey, Turkey’s official gazette reported on Tuesday.
The interconnection MoU between Georgia and Turkey, signed on Sept. 13, 2007, aims to deepen cooperation between the electricity systems of both countries.
The countries agreed to support the technical operators of Georgia's State Electric System, GSS, and Turkish Electricity Transmission Corporation, TEIAS for the construction of a new 400 kilovolts (kV) electric transmission line between the Akhaltsikhe district and Turkey's Borcka district on the Turkish-Georgian border. The line intends to have a 1,000 megawatt capacity dependent on both countries' electricity demands, according to the official gazette.
Turkey has electricity interconnection lines currently operational and exporting 220 kV to Georgia, 154 kV to Azerbaijan's Nakhcivan, two lines to Iran, one at 154 kV and the other at 400 kV, according to TEIAS's data.
Turkey aims to expand its energy interconnection in its region under a new project named “AGT Power Bridge.” The project will study and analyze the high voltage electricity networks of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey from a sub-regional perspective to evaluate and increase the interconnection capacity and exchange of electricity among the countries.
The project grows out of the Black Sea Regional Transmission Planning Project (BSTP) and supports the leading U.S. aid organization, USAID's goals of strengthening the interconnection of the three countries to enhance sub-regional electricity trade, in addition to efficiently integrating renewable energy, improving energy security and optimizing the region's electricity generation.
By Muhsin Baris Tiryakioglu
Anadolu Agency
muhsin.tiryakioglu@aa.com.tr