Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept. 26 / Trend, N. Umid, S. Isayev
Electricity production in Iran costs three times more than its incomes, the managing director of Iran Power Generation Transmission and Distribution Management Company (TAVANIR), Homayoun Haeri said, IRIB news agency reported.
Iran should increase electricity price, he said, adding that reviewing the electricity power price is necessary for saving the country's electricity power production industry.
Haeri went on to note that, producing each kilowatt hour of electricity costs 680 rials (about 0.027 cents based on official rate of 24,700 rials per each USD), while it is being sold for 430 rials (about 0.017 cents), which some 266 rials(some 0.010 cents) of that amount is being paid to TAVANIR.
Iran's Subsidies Organization receives 166 rials (about 0.006 cents) of the figure, he added.
Gholamreza Khoshkholq, an official with the TAVANIR said on Wednesday that currently 28 million users are connected to Iran's national power grid.
The figure would reach 30 million by the end of the current calendar year, the IRNA News Agency quoted Khoshkholq as saying.
Iran's Energy Minister said on September 15 that the country is the world's 14th country in terms of power production capacity.
"Tehran's electricity production capacity is over 70,000 megawatt hours," the IRIB News Agency quoted Hamid Chitchian as saying.
He went on to note that, based on the Fifth Five-Year Economic Development Plan (March 2011 to March 2016) the country should increase its electricity production capacity by 5000 megawatt hours to keep up with the rising consumption rate.
Deputy Energy Minister Mohammad Behzad said on July 5 that Iran is the Middle East's biggest electricity producer.
Behzad said the power generation capacity in Iran has grown by seven per cent annually during the past 10 years, he said, adding that the figure has averaged 3.5 per cent in the world.
Iran currently trades power with Turkey, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq.
Iran seeks to become a major regional exporter of electricity and has attracted more than $1.1 billion in investments for the construction of three new power plants.