TEHRAN – Iranian Energy Ministry has announced that 50 trillion rials (nearly $1.2 billion) of investment is needed to reduce the energy losses in the country’s electricity network to less than 10 percent, IRNA reported on Monday.

According to the Energy Ministry, this amount of investment is economical and justifiable given the fact that this cost is much lower than the costs for power plant construction and it will also lead to lower fuel consumption.

As reported, since the Iranian calendar year of 1392 (started on March 21, 2013) up to the end of the calendar year of 1397 (ended on March 20, 2019) the losses in the Iranian electricity network has been reduced by 4.1 percent.

During the mentioned time span, electricity losses fell from 15.2 percent to 11.1 percent.

A four-percent reduction in losses means saving the costs for construction of 2500 megawatts capacity of new power plants (about €5.1 billion) and a reduction of eight billion cubic meters of natural gas consumption (equivalent to annual production of one of the South Pars gas field’s phases). 

According to the data released by the Energy Ministry, Iran's electricity grid losses were less than those of Mexico, Turkey, and Brazil in the Iranian calendar year of 1397. 

With a nominal electricity generation capacity of 84,795 megawatts [84.795 gigawatts (GW)], Iran has one of the biggest power networks in the Middle East.

The country’s total power generation capacity stood at 80,000 MW in the Iranian calendar year of 1397, up from the 78,484 MW of its preceding year.

EF/MA