TEHRAN - The electricity output of Iran’s hydroelectric power plants reached 26,103 gigawatt hours (GWh) in the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-December 21, 2019), 218 percent more than the figure for last year’s same period, IRNA reported.

As reported, the country’s hydroelectric power plants generated only 8,198 GWh of electricity in the last year’s same time span. 

According to the latest data provided by the Energy Ministry, currently, 55 hydroelectric power plants with a total capacity of 12,169 megawatts (MW) are operating across the country.

The mentioned power plants every year generate 27,696 GWh of electricity on average.

Based on the provided data, 16 of the mentioned 55 power plants are located in the Caspian Sea basin, while 25 are located adjacent to the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea, one is near Urmia Lake and finally, 13 are located in central Iran.

Currently, 17 new hydroelectric power plants with a total capacity of 3,517 MW are also being constructed across the country, according to the Energy Ministry.
Iran’s current power generation capacity stands at about 81 GW of which the share of hydroelectric power stands at nearly 16 percent.

In late May 2019, the Energy Ministry announced that it plans to inaugurate 22 new hydroelectric units with a total capacity of 3,933 MW in the current calendar year (ends on March 19) along with upgrading and increasing the efficiency of existing power plants to add another 461 MW of new capacity.

EF/MA