Tehran, Iran, June 13
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
The amount of investment in Iran's power sector has been on the decline over the past decade, according to Arash Kordi, CEO of TAVANIR (power production and distribution organization of Iran).
Each year Iran's power sector needs $4 billion of investment, which has not been realized so far, Kordi said, Mehr news agency reported June 13.
Right now the country has the lowest possible power storage level, he said, adding that the produced power is entirely used to meet the instant demand.
He said Iran expects to improve its power output by 1,000 megawatts for the current Iranian fiscal year (to end March 20).
Meanwhile, Abdolraul Pishahang, CEO for Strategic Affairs at Thermal Power Plants Holding said that some power plants in Iran are old but cannot be shut down because of the shortage of supply.
The official further said that over the past year the equivalent of 90,000 megawatts power plant maintenance and repair has been conducted.
Hydroelectric, nuclear, and thermal power plants produce 51,000 megawatts of power in Iran, he said, adding that for the summer, supply is expected to come short by 2,000 megawatts.
Government spokesman Mohammad Bagher Nobakht said June 8 that Iran had signed a new contract with a group of foreign companies to attract $4.2 billion worth of direct investments for building power plants in the country.
On June 5 Turkey's Unit International announced that it will construct seven gas power plants valued at $4.2 billion.
Iran's power generation capacity currently stands at around 74,000 MW, of that some 12,000 MW account for hydroelectric power plants, 1,000 MW for a nuclear power plant and the remaining for thermal power plants.