ARMENIA SAYS WILL SELL ELECTRIC POWER TO TURKEY
Assa-Irada
Sept 10 2008
Azerbaijan
Armenia will start selling electric power to Turkey in 2009, its
energy minister Armen Movsisyan said in an unexpected statement
on Wednesday. A relevant agreement was reached during Turkish
President Abdullah Guls visit to Yerevan at the weekend, Armenian
media reported. According to Movsisyan, representatives of the UNIT
company operating in Turkey in the field of imports and distribution of
high-voltage electric power were part of the delegation that visited
the Armenian capital.
He said the two countries had signed a contract on exports of
electricity from Armenia to Turkey through the city of Gars. Under
the deal, Turkey is to restore all the required infrastructure in its
territory and begin receiving electric power afterwards. According
to the minister, the neighboring country will initially receive 1.5
billion KWt/hr a year, with the figure to reach 3.5 billion KWt/hr in
the following years. Touching on the price of supplied electricity,
Movsisyan said: The price per KWt will depend on the cost of thermal
power and gas, but the price will be economically viable in any
case. If the exports were carried out today, a KWt/hr would cost
5.7 cents. Movsisyan said the alleged agreement was a success for
Armenia. This is a new market for us, and this arrangement will
allow us to maximally capitalize on our energy potential. Movsisyan
added that the agreement had been reached on a high level, adding
that the emergence of political hurdles was unlikely. Abdullah Gul
became the first Turkish leader to visit Armenia. The neighboring
countries have no diplomatic ties but, rather, a relationship haunted
by the question of whether huge numbers of ethnic Armenians were
killed by Ottoman Turks during World War I in what Yerevan claims
was systematic genocide. Ankara also condemns Armenias policy of
occupying Azerbaijani land.