TEHRAN - Iran’s thermal power plants generated over 280 million megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity in the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-December 21), an official with the Thermal Power Plants Holding (TPPH) announced.

According to Esmail Namazi, the director of TPPH’s Production and Technical Office, thermal power plants accounted for 93 percent of the country’s total power generation during the mentioned nine months, IRNA reported.

Of the mentioned figure, 150 million MWh or 53 percent was the share of combined cycle units, which registered a 3.5-percent increase compared to the previous year’s same period.

Iran’s thermal power plants’ electricity generation capacity increased by 1,035 megawatts (MW) in the past Iranian calendar year 1401 (ended on March 20).

Last year, in addition to the construction of new power plant units, the thermal power industry had put on the agenda the program of increasing the power generation capacity of the existing power plants.

According to Namazi, the capacity of 286 thermal power plants across the country increased by about 1,035 MW with the implementation of a plan to increase the number of gas and combined cycle units and remove the limitation of thermal power plants.

Over two-thirds of Iran’s thermal power plants are owned and operated by the country’s private sector and private owners are currently generating nearly 67 percent of Iran’s thermal power.

Currently, a total of 478 thermal power plants are operating throughout Iran which includes both gas power plants and combined cycle plants.

Iran’s total power generation capacity currently stands at about 90,000 MW, more than 90 percent of which is supplied by thermal power plants.

EF/MA