Türkiye is prepared to provide electricity to Syria and Lebanon, with a team of government officials already in its war-torn southern neighbor for assessments to help address its energy challenges, according to Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar.
After backing the Syrian opposition forces who toppled longtime dictator Bashar Assad this month after a 13-year civil war, Ankara has emerged as one of the main power brokers and has vowed to help rebuild the country.
Türkiye was one of the first countries to reopen its embassy in Damascus, while its foreign minister and intelligence chief both met with Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa there.
"Maybe the electricity that Syria and Lebanon need will initially be met by exporting it from Türkiye, and of course, we can see the picture a little more after seeing the situation in the transmission network," Bayraktar told reporters in Türkiye's southeastern city of Şanlıurfa on Sunday.
The Energy and Natural Resources Ministry delegation arrived in Damascus on Saturday and, according to Bayraktar's previous comments, was going to discuss possible energy cooperation, including transmitting electricity to ease power shortages.
"The primary issue in the country is electricity. A formula will be devised to ensure its supply," Bayraktar said.
He said Syria's prewar installed power of 8,500 megawatts had fallen to some 3,500 megawatts. Türkiye supplies approximately 210 megawatts at the moment.
"The vast majority of people meet their electricity needs with generators, so there is actually a very serious need for electricity," said Bayraktar, adding that the ministry team was looking into how Syria's own oil and natural gas resources may be used.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said that Ankara would do whatever is necessary for the reconstruction of Syria.
Türkiye currently provides about 210 megawatts of electricity to some parts of northern Syria that it cleared from terrorists through four military operations since 2016.
Nearly 60% of Syria's electricity is produced from oil, with about 38% coming from gas.
Before the conflict, there was a 400-kilovolt high-voltage network from the Birecik hydroelectric power plant, located in the Southeastern Anatolia region, along the Euphrates River, to Syria's Aleppo.
However, Bayraktar said the status of the segment beyond al-Rai town in Syria remains unknown.
In the early 2000s, Syria produced 600,000 barrels of oil per day. However, output plummeted to as low as 30,000 barrels per day due to the war.
