Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan.7 / Trend A.Akhundov /
Azerbaijan has paid about 10 percent of electricity debt to Turkey, which started from early 1990s as a result of electricity supply to the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic, which is now in the blockade, Board Chairman and Director General of the Turkish State Electricity Trading Company (TETAS) Hacı Duran Gokkaya told Trend.
According to him, the return of the debt, which is returned by electricity, started after an increase in production capacity of Nakhchivan in 2007.
"Now Nakhchivan supplies electricity with a capacity of 20-25 megawatt to Turkey, which is equivalent to 200 million kilowatt-hours per year," Gokkaya said.
According to him, Azerbaijan's total debt is about $ 150 million.
The representative of Turkey's energy company further said that at current rates of supply, the debt will be repaid after 10 years.
"The existing supply volumes are insignificant, but we are closely cooperating with Azerenergy (electricity production and distribution in Azerbaijan), and with Nakhchivan's power men, and we believe that the NAR will soon increase its production capacity," he said.
Azerbaijan has a total production capacity of about six thousand megawatt, with the annual production potentially exceeding 21 billion kWh of electricity, but the NAR's capacity for electricity production is 160 megawatt.
Return of the debt became possible after constructing new power generating facilities in Nakhchivan, in particular, the modular power plant with a capacity of 87 megawatt and transferring diesel power plant with a capacity of 50 megawatt to gas. The NAR also has hydroelectric power plants.
The start of gas supply to Nakhchivan through Iran has allowed reducing the amount of electricity use and letting the country repay the debt. In the near future, there are plans to build a new border hydroelectric power plant in the NAR, which will allow increasing production capacity and debt repayment.
According to Gokkaya, Azerbaijan has received electricity under the terms of its return by electricity.
"In case of lack of such a possibility, Azerbaijan undertook to repay the debt in monetary terms, but if there is not such an opportunity, by any other method," he said.