Tehran, Iran, Nov. 1
By Milad Fashtami - Trend:
Some 441 domestic and foreign firms will attend at the 14th edition of Iran International Electricity Exhibition.
Deputy Energy Minister Houshang Falahatian said that some 98 foreign companies will take part in the event, Iran's IRNA News Agency reported on Nov. 1.
The event is scheduled to kick off on November 10.
"Only 7 or 8 countries are capable of constructing power plants and Iran is one of them," he said.
He went on to note that the country exports technical and engineering services to over 20 countries around the world.
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.
The country currently trades power with Turkey, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq.
Iran's IRIB News Agency reported on October 22 that the country exported over 6,152.8 gigawatt hours of electricity to neighboring countries from the beginning of the current year (March 21) until October 22.
The figure shows 0.37 percent increase compared to same period of time previous year.
Iran's electricity imports from neighboring countries also reached 2,124.6 gigawatt hours in the mentioned period, which is 3.89 percent less than previous year.
Deputy Energy Minister Sattar Mahmoudi said in November 2013 that Iran annually exports 8 billion kilowatt hours of electricity to neighboring countries.
Iraq, Turkey, and Pakistan are the main importers of Iranian electricity.
"The mentioned figure is about 3 percent of the country's total output," the ILNA News Agency quoted Mahmoudi as saying.
"Iran is currently among the world's top countries in regards to electricity control and transmission," he said.
Mahmoudi went on to note that Iran's production capacity has surpassed 70,000 megawatt (263 billion Kwh).
"Iran has electricity ties with all the neighboring countries," he said, adding that Tehran eyes to export electricity to Europe via Armenia, Russia, and Azerbaijan.
"Iran has the potential to become an electricity hub in the region," he concluded.