TEHRAN – Iran’s small-scale gas power plants managed to generate 800 megawatts of electricity, a first since the establishment of such power plants in the country, the news portal of the Energy Ministry (Paven) reported on Monday.

The electricity generation by the mentioned power plants registered a 21-percent increase compared to the figure for the previous year.

As reported, because small-scale power plants are constructed at the place of consumption (e.g. for factories, etc.) the loss of electricity in the transmission lines is eliminated, and therefore they are of significant importance in this regard.

Reducing the costs of network development, improving the voltage profile, and strengthening the resilience of the network are other important advantages that the use of such power plants is offering to the country's electricity industry.

Iran’s electricity consumption has been increasing sharply in the past few weeks as the weather is getting hotter in the country and people are using air conditioners more often.

Earlier on Sunday, Energy Ministry’s spokesman for the electricity industry announced that daily electricity consumption in the country reached 55,071 megawatts (55.07 gigawatts) on Saturday to register a new record high.

According to Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, the country’s electricity consumption increased by 1000 MW compared to the figure for the same date last year.

The rise in electricity consumption comes as last week the energy ministry had warned of the unprecedented increases in power consumption across the country.

“If electricity consumption continues the current upward trend, we will have to impose blackouts,” Rajabi Mashhadi regretted.

The nominal capacity of electricity generation at Iranian power plants reached 85,500 megawatts [85.5 gigawatts (GW)] following the completion of the development of Parand thermal power plant in early April.

Iran’s total power generation capacity stood at about 83,350 MW at the end of the past Iranian calendar year 1398 (March 19), up from the 80,000 MW of its preceding year.

Currently, combined cycle power plants account for the biggest share in the country’s total power generation capacity followed by gas power plants.

EF/MA