BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 5
By Elnur Baghishov – Trend:
Iran's steel sector suffered a loss of $6 billion due to electricity shortages in the country in the summer of this year, Chairman of the Iranian Steel Producers Association (ISPA) Bahram Sobhani said, Trend reports citing IRIB.
He made the remark at a meeting on the problem of electricity in the steel sector.
The chairman noted that 10 million tons of steel could be produced in Iran during the reporting period, which was not possible.
Sobhani added that Iran's steel production potential in Iran is currently 40 million tons annually. This figure is projected to decrease to 30 million tons.
"At present, 75 percent of the potential of the steel sector in Iran is active, despite this, this sector is not profitable. Because for this field to be profitable, the potential must be more than 75 percent active," he said.
According Sobhani, if steelmakers build power plants to make up for the power shortage, it will take about three years. That's a loss of about $18 billion.
The chairman stressed that by 2026, Iran's steel production is expected to reach 55 million tons annually.
Reportedly, in the summer of this year, electricity consumption in Iran increased to about 65,000 megawatts daily. This has resulted in a number of restrictions in the country, including the closure of factories. On September 5, 2021, electricity consumption in Iran was about 63,200 megawatts.
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