Azerbaijan, Baku, May.31/ Trend R.Zamanov/
Iran plans to privatise 28 power plants by the end of the current calendar year (March 20, 2014), Deputy Energy Minister Mohammad Behzad.
In the previous Iranian calendar year which ended March 20 eight power plants were privatised, the ISNA News Agency quoted Behzad as saying.
He went on to note that Iran has privatised 18 power plants so far.
Currently the private sector produces 40 per cent of the country's total electricity output Behzad said, adding that the amount would reach 60 per cent by the end of the current year.
Iranian Energy Minister Majid Namjou said last in November that according to the Constitution, the generation and distribution sectors of the power industry should be privatised and the transmission sector should remain state-owned.
Behzad said in April that Iran has constructed twice as many power plants as the average number of power plants which have been constructed in the world during the past decade.
The managing director of Iran power generation transmission and distribution management company (TAVANIR), Homayoun Haeri, said on May 14 that Iran is now 92 per cent self-sufficient in producing the energy and electricity industries required facilities.
According to Haeri, Iran currently trades 12.3 gig watt hours of electricity with neighbouring countries.
The Iranian energy minister said on May 10 that the country plans to convert 12 thermal power plants to combined cycle plants.
The move will boost the country's electricity production capacity by 6000 megawatts; the IRNA News Agency quoted Majid Namjou as saying.
Half of the above-mentioned plants are owned by the private sector, he added.
The power generation capacity in Iran has grown by seven per cent annually during the past 10 years. 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. In an effort to diversify its destination markets, Iran plans to export electricity to Europe and Africa.
Tehran 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.
Based on the Fifth Five-Year Economic Development Plan, Iran should annually add 5000 MW to its power generation capacity.
Iran plans to boost its electricity generation capacity to reach 73GW by the end of the Fifth Five-Year Economic Development Plan (March 2016).