TEHRAN – Over 97,000 megawatts (MW) capacity of Iran’s thermal power plants are going under a general overhauling program to get ready for the next year’s demand peak period, IRNA reported on Wednesday, quoting a Thermal Power Plants Holding Company (TPPH) official.

According to Gholamreza Mehrdad, general manager of generation technical support at TPPH, the overhaul program is expected to finish by the end of the next Iranian calendar year’s second month of Ordibehesht (May 20, 2020).

The annual overhaul program starts every year in early September and will continue until late May in the next year, the official said.

“A total of 674 short-term and long-term repair operations are anticipated to be carried out on a total 97,800 MW capacity of power plants, of which the operations for 46,700 MW have been currently executed or are in progress,” Mehrdad explained.

As reported, so far 48 percent of the program has been carried out.

Since the total capacity of the country’s thermal power plants stands at about 80,000 MW, the mentioned figure indicates that some plants will go under more than one round of overhaul during the program.

Summer months constitute Iran’s peak demand periods, so most of the power plant overhaul programs are scheduled to take place during autumn, winter and spring seasons.

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 85,000 MW, more than 90 percent of which is supplied by thermal power plants.

EF/MA