Iran starts exporting electricity to power-starved Iraq — report
An incandescent light bulb is illuminated next to electricity pylons on November 18, 2009 in Greenock, Scotland.
Iran has started exporting electricity to a central province in Iraq using a new power line, according to the Tehran Times.
More from GlobalPost: Brett McGurk, Obama's Iraq envoy nominee, sees bid imperiled by suggestive emails
The new 100 MW supply will go to Iraq's Wasit province, which suffers regular blackouts due to shortages, Tehran Times cited the Iraqi news agency Aswat al-Iraq as saying. The area needs 550MW daily but receives little more than one-fourth that amount from the national power grid, according to Iran's semi-official Fars News agency.
Iraq as a whole continues to suffer massive power shortages due to poor infrastructure, a lack of funds, political disorganization, and the effects of the recent US-led war.
The Islamic Republic, a Shiite country, has shown growing friendliness toward Shiite-led Iraq in recent months.
The country has also been increasing its power deals with neighboring countries, electricity exports up nearly 40% when compared with last year, reported Tehran Times.