TEHRAN – Iranian Energy Ministry has it on the agenda to implement 20 major programs in the electricity sector under the framework of the A-B-Iran scheme, by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2021), IRNA reported.

As reported, the programs include the complete implementation of the “99 program” (a plan aiming for zero power outages in the summer of the current Iranian calendar year 1399), implementing an advanced national dispatching system, using gas condensate as the fuel for gas power plants, reducing the losses in the distribution sector down to 9.2 percent, increasing the average annual efficiency in thermal power plants up to more than 39 percent, putting Sirik power plant in southern Hormozgan Province into operation and finally inaugurating the first national power plant with 60 percent efficiency.

Completion of the third Iran-Armenia transmission line, putting the country's first geothermal power plant into operation, utilizing fiber optic technology in the national grid using the capacity of domestic knowledge-based companies and in collaboration with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, increasing electricity exports to neighboring countries, completing the research project for synchronization of Iran, Russia, and Azerbaijan electricity networks are also among the programs that the energy ministry is going to realize in the current year.

Some other programs in this sector include digitalization of the distribution sector by the integration of technical and non-technical systems, increasing the share of renewables in the country’s power generation capacity to at least two percent, standardization, and implementation of energy standards for domestically-made air conditioners in collaboration with the Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade.

Based on the A-B-Iran scheme [the acronyms A and B stand for water, electricity in Persian], the Energy Ministry plans to inaugurate some water, electricity projects across the country every week.

Following this scheme, the ministry is going to inaugurate 250 major projects worth 500 trillion rials (about $11.9 billion) during the current Iranian calendar year.

The mentioned program was also conducted by the ministry in the previous Iranian calendar year (ended on March 19), during which  227 major projects with a total investment of 335.6 trillion rials (about $7.99 billion) went operational across the country.

According to Iran’s Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian, during the 20 weeks of the mentioned program in the previous year, the minister made 31 trips to various provinces for inaugurating energy projects.

The official also announced that three power plants and 40 new projects worth 60 trillion rials (about $1.4 billion) will be inaugurated during the first quarter of the current calendar year.

EF/MA