TEHRAN – Iranian Energy Minister Ali-Akbar Mehrabian has said the country is currently able to exchange electricity with Afghanistan, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, and Turkey, IRNA reported.

As reported, developing energy diplomacy and exchange of electricity with the neighboring countries has been among the top priorities of the energy minister and in this regard, Mehrabian had underlined the synchronization of the country’s electricity network with that of Russia as well as joining the power grid with the Persian Gulf Arab nations among the plans during his tenure.

Speaking in a gathering with the representatives of the Foreign Affairs Ministry on Saturday, Mehrabian said Iran has great potential for exporting electricity and power equipment to the countries in the region and the energy ministry has had good success in this area over the years.

Manufacturing F-class turbines

Referring to the country's ability to produce F-class turbines, Mehrabian said: “The Islamic Republic of Iran is one of the few countries in the world that produces electrical equipment, turbines, generators, etc. at the highest level of technology. Today, Iran can produce a variety of turbines, especially class F turbines, which have the highest efficiency in the power plant industry.”

According to the energy minister, significant power projects, especially hydropower plants, have been implemented in Iraq, Syria, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Russia, and other countries.

“Iran has a very good position in the world in the field of water projects, including water systems, dams, and hydropower plants,” Mehrabian said.

99.5% of Iran’s rural population enjoys electricity

According to Mehrabian, currently, 100 percent of the country’s urban population has access to the electricity network while 99.5 percent of the rural population is also connected to the national power grid.

“Over the past few years, investment in this sector has declined and the supply and demand balance became negative, which resulted in some restrictions and blackouts, but with a precise plan to compensate we are solving problems,” Mehrabian said.

The official noted that the energy ministry is planning to add 30,000 megawatts to the country’s electricity generation capacity over the next four years.

He stated that one of the energy ministry’s concerns is to pass the next summer’s peak consumption period, noting: “We must be able to work in such a way that people see fewer restrictions and if we can use hydropower plants to some extent, hopefully, we will not experience blackouts.”

****6,000 MW to be added to power generation capacity by June 2022

Mehrabian further noted that currently 6,000 megawatts capacity of power plants are under generation across the country and will come on stream by the next summer peak consumption period (summer begins in late June 2021).

“For the summer peak of 1401 [the next Iranian calendar year] it is planned to add 6,000 MW to the country's electricity generation capacity, which will be a record,” he said.

Of the mentioned capacity, so far four power plant units have joined the country’s power network and the rest will be constructed by the mentioned date.

EF/MA