Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 15
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Iran's hydroelectric power plants have generated 7.7 billion kilowatt hours of electricity since the beginning of the current Iranian fiscal year (March 20) to August 10.
The figure shows a 7 percent increase compared to the same period of the previous year, Farbod Estiri, an official with Iranian Energy Ministry said, the country's Fars news agency reported on Aug. 15.
The produced electricity is 14 percent more from the forecasted figure for the period, he added.
Estiri went on to note that over 14 billion kilowatt hours of electricity is expected to be produced by the country's hydroelectric power plants during the current fiscal year (21 March 2014 to 21 March 2015).
The country's hydroelectric power output stood at 14.6 billion kilowatt hours in the past fiscal year (ended on March 21).
Earlier this month Iranian media outlets quoted Abdorrasoul Pishahang, an official with Iran's Power Generation Transmission and Distribution Management Company (TAVANIR) as saying hydroelectric power generation capacity in Iran has decreased by 1,000 megawatts.
He referred to the water shortage crises in the country saying that hydroelectric power plants are not able to operate at full capacity due to water deficit.
According to the Iran's Energy Ministry's annual report, the country produced 263 billion KWh of electricity, while it exported above 11.7 billion KWh and imported 3.7 billion KWh during the last fiscal year. The Islamic Republic currently trades power with Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkmenistan, 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.