Morocco-Algeria Electricity Exchange Halted Since 2021 Gas Pipeline Closure

The exchange of electricity between Morocco and Algeria has completely ceased, reports the specialized website "Al Taqa", adding that the electrical interconnection infrastructure between the two countries still exists and is secure, according to the Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development.

Morocco and Algeria are electrically connected by two submarine links. The first, commissioned in 1988, connects the Moroccan city of Oujda to Ghazaouet in Algeria. The second, with a larger capacity, connects Oujda to the Algerian city of Tlemcen.

Algeria could also export up to 1,000 megawatts of electricity to Spain via Moroccan territory under an agreement signed between the two countries in 2008. This agreement gave Morocco the possibility to import up to 700 megawatts from Algeria in case of an energy deficit.

But all these transactions have ceased after the closure in October 2021 by Algeria of the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline (GME) due to "hostile" acts by Morocco. Algeria had announced on August 24, 2021, through the voice of its then Foreign Minister, Ramtane Lamamra, the severance of its diplomatic relations with Morocco.