TEHRAN, Iran, June 15
Trend:
Iran's Ministry of Energy is going to allocate significant loans to distribution and transmission network projects by the end of the current Iranian year (end on March 20, 2021), Iranian Minister of Energy Reza Ardakanian said.
“By the end of the year, 18 thermal power plants in 13 provinces, 33 renewable energy projects in 21 provinces and 14 projects in small-scale power plants in 10 provinces will be inaugurated,” Ardakanian said, Trend reports citing Iranian Government's official website.
Referring to the main obstacle to the development of the electricity industry in Iran, the minister said that currently, there is a large number of manufacturing companies in the country, thus Iran's is 'capable in this field'.
"Last year, the ministry launched 227 projects with an investment of $5.4 billion,” he said, calling this achievement a motivation to increase that number in the current year.
Referring to the effects of the coronavirus on the water and electricity projects, Ardakanian said that the first effect of the outbreak was on the workload.
“During this time, water consumption has increased considerably," said the minister. "In a number of cities, consumption increased by 40 percent compared to the same period last year.”
“But this situation, like any other, also provided opportunities. Many meetings were held online at a lower cost,” he said.
Ardakanian went on to say that productivity of the water and electricity industry has increased by accelerating the establishment of e-government.
He expressed hope that Iran spends this summer without any electricity and water cut offs.