Turkmenistan keen to diversify electricity export

Turkmenistan intends to diversify the directions of electricity supplies, said the country’s President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

He made the remarks during the ceremony of commissioning of a control center in Ashgabat, the Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper reported Oct. 19, Trend reports.

Measures, taken in this direction, allow fully meeting the country’s electricity demand, and exporting the surplus to the neighboring countries – Afghanistan and Iran, said Berdimuhamedov.

He added that the country intends to diversify the directions of these supplies and increase their volume in the future.

In accordance with the “Concept of development of power engineering sector of Turkmenistan within 2013-2020,” it is envisaged to build 14 gas turbine power stations, power transmission systems and distribution stations.

Six power plants were built and put into operation in the country’s Ahal, Lebap and Mary provinces.

Moreover, the construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline, which runs through the country, began in December 2015. Simultaneously, the construction of a high-voltage power system is also envisaged in Turkmenistan.

It was previously reported that currently, the opportunities are being studied in order to transport Turkmen electricity to Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Caucasus countries.

Turkmenistan plans to increase the electricity output up to 27.4 billion kilowatt-hours by 2020 and up to 35.5 billion kilowatt-hours – by 2030.