Turkmenistan explores Caspian undersea electricity cable project

Turkmenistan is exploring the possibility of participating in a project to lay an electricity cable along the bottom of the Caspian Sea for power exports, Abdulla Jelilov, a senior official from State Energy Corporation Turkmenenergo, has stated on the sidelines of the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan.

In an interview with the Report, he said the proposal is currently under study and Turkmenistan is simultaneously constructing a combined-cycle power plant in Turkmenbashi with a capacity of 1,574 megawatts, which could eventually serve as a major source of electricity for export.

“Once completed, it will be possible through this station and via the cable to export electricity to Azerbaijan or onwards to other countries,” he noted.

He added that the project is regularly discussed within intergovernmental commissions between Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, but that no final decision has yet been made.

“For now, the issue remains open, but we want to implement this project,” he stressed.

Jelilov made it clear that the initiative could be economically beneficial for all parties involved, with Azerbaijan seen as a key transit hub for potential electricity exports to other markets.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov