Syria’s Electricity Interconnectors: Isolated Bilateral Links

By: Mohamad Ahmad

Syria once stood at the center of the Eight Country Interconnection Project (EIJLLPST), a 1980s initiative to link the electricity networks of Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Türkiye, Egypt, Libya, and Palestine. Despite tangible achievements, a fully integrated regional electricity market never materialized. Although Syria remains geographically central to cross-border electricity flows, its external connections have fragmented, marked by isolated off-grid imports, dormant transmission links, and severe damage to its domestic network.

Turkish electric supplies bypass Syria’s domestic grid, undermining national recovery by entrenching grid separation. As of September 2026, Türkiye supplied northern Syria via three ‘islanded’ interfaces operating asynchronously from Syria’s grid, with an export Net Transfer Capacity (NTC) of up to 380 MW. In August, Türkiye’s energy minister projected that ongoing repairs to the 400 kV Birecik-Aleppo line— under the World Bank’s Syria Emergency Electricity Project (SEEP)— could raise Turkish exports to 800–900 MW, with Turkish grid operator TEİAŞ allocating up to 500 MW NTC for this link alone. This would nearly double current export volumes and account for roughly one-quarter of Syria’s estimated 3,500 MW domestic generation. However, authorities have yet to confirm exact launch dates or actual flows.

Jordan represents the next most viable route. The 400 kV Amman North–Deir Ali interconnector, operational from 2001 until mid-2012, has a reported capacity of up to 800 MW. In February 2026, Syria tendered rehabilitation of its section under SEEP. By September, the Syrian energy minister reported that 8% of the transmission network had been rehabilitated, including work on this link. While Jordan confirmed its technical readiness for exports, contractual arrangements and the full repair of the line remain pending.

Lebanon has the longest history of electricity trade with Syria via several lines, including the 400 kV Dimas–Ksara corridor, which became inactive due to conflict and sanctions. In May, Syria completed technical assessments and reported the line ready for reactivation. It recently offered to supply 150 MW to Lebanon, which is currently reviewing the offer. Syria might also serve as a transit route for electricity moving from Jordan and Türkiye into Lebanon.

Iraq remains Syria’s least certain link. Before 2010, the two grids connected through the 230 kV Tayem–Al Qaim corridor, but a planned 400 kV upgrade remains incomplete. Unlike the documented progress toward reconnection with Jordan, Lebanon, and Türkiye, plans to reconnect with Iraq remain far less concrete.

For Syria, the immediate priority is restoring the domestic grid’s capacity to receive and distribute imported electricity and finalizing the commercial frameworks required for regional trade. Over the longer term, reconnecting Iraq and participating in broader corridors—such as the one proposed between Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, and Türkiye—could expand Syria’s options for importing, exporting, and transiting electricity. Achieving that potential would require upgrading Syria’s grid infrastructure to match regional technical standards and enabling synchronized regional interconnection.