Omar Shakrouq, the Minister of Electricity in the Damascus caretaker government, stated that returning to pre-2010 electricity generation levels in Syria will take three years and requires a cost of up to $40 billion to restore the networks.

Shakrouq added during an interview with CNBC Arabia on Tuesday, January 14, that providing electricity for a period of six to eight hours daily will take two months, indicating that reducing production costs will be gradual, and that in the first two years “we will be in the construction phase.”

The minister pointed out that Syria’s electricity needs amount to 6,500 megawatts to provide power for 24 hours daily, explaining that the cost of producing one kilowatt-hour exceeds 12 cents, and that reducing the cost to about half (six cents) will require more than four years.

He added that current generation stations can produce 4,000 megawatts if fuel is available, noting, “We currently have about 7,500 megawatts of installed capacity on the grid.”

Regarding the costs of maintenance and rebuilding the networks, Shakrouq stated that there is a need for $3 billion for operational materials, maintenance, and rehabilitation to ensure the network operates at its current capacity, and that the country requires $10 billion as part of the reconstruction plan.

The minister mentioned that the home of the deposed president Bashar al-Assad and many homes of former officials had multiple power lines, and electricity could not be cut off from them, as the supply to al-Assad’s residences and his followers was connected to 24-hour lines and exempt from rationing.

On regional cooperation to help meet Syria’s needs for electricity and energy, Shakrouq noted that the Arab Gas Pipeline with Jordan is currently ready to receive gas, and that two ships from Turkey and Qatar have arrived in Syria in response to the urgent needs of the sector and to increase generation.

He noted that each ship generates 400 megawatts, and there is potential to create two 230-kilovolt lines to connect to the grid, specifying that one of the connection lines will be operational in about one and a half months.

Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Alparslan Bayraktar, stated that Turkey supplies Syria with 210 megawatts of electricity daily through seven different points, and there are plans to increase the supply capacity.

Bayraktar mentioned in an interview with CNN TÜRK on January 9 that there is potential to increase supplies to 300 megawatts in February.

The minister indicated plans to export 500 megawatts of electricity to Aleppo in northern Syria within the next six months.

On January 9, a Jordanian technical team arrived to assess the condition of the electrical network in Syria, as announced by Jordan’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Saleh al-Kharabsheh.

The minister clarified that the electrical connection line with Syria from the Jordanian side is ready, while the Syrian side will be assessed by the Jordanian team to determine the time needed for maintenance, according to what the Jordanian Ammonn news agency reported.

Jordan is preparing to supply Syria with about 250 megawatts of electricity immediately, contingent on the readiness of the electrical connection line that links the two countries on the Syrian side, the minister added, noting that supplying Lebanon with electricity is linked to repairing the network in southern Syria.