To help stabilize power supply in Ahvaz, the capital of Khuzestan Province, a 230/33-kilovolt power substation and a 132/33-kilovolt mobile substation were synchronized with the national power grid, the head of Iran Power Generation, Distribution and Transmission Company said.
“Costing $30 million, the new installations will prevent industrial towns in and around Ahvaz from the adverse impact of voltage fluctuations in the hot summer days when electricity consumption peaks in the region,” Arash Kordi was also quoted as saying by ISNA.
“The two substations are equipped with 100-megavolt-ampere and 30-megavolt-ampere transformers, which will improve the stability of power transmission in the local grid,” he said.
“The project was carried out with the help of domestic engineers and funded by the provincial power company.”
Transformers and substations at times break down in Ahvaz due to the temperature that rises to 50 degrees Celsius.
Power outages in Khuzestan have become a near permanent feature in recent years. The province is battered by irregular but weeks-long blackouts as some power and water infrastructure are hit by sand and dust storms originating largely from Iraq.
Dezful Power Plant
According to Mahmoud Dashtbozorg, the head of Khuzestan Power Company, Dezful small-scale power plant with distributed generation system operated by the regional electricity company also joined the national electricity grid last week.
“The 25-megawatt plant was built by the domestic engineering and energy giant, MAPNA Group,” he said.
“Costing $40 million, the gas turbine will help stabilize power supply in Shoush and Dezful counties in summer.”
Khuzestan Regional Electric Company is responsible for supplying electricity to the southwestern Khuzestan Province as well as its eastern neighbor Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad.
Distributed generation refers to electricity produced in small quantities near the point of use, as alternative or supplement to traditional centralized grid-connected power. It reduces the cost and complexity associated with transmission and distribution, while offsetting peak electricity demand and stabilizing the local grid.
Gas-Insulated Substations
The official said that to reduce load shedding and frequent outages in Ahvaz, three gas-insulated substations have recently been synchronized with the national grid.
"GIS systems cost twice as much as regular substations, but play a key role in reducing power cuts in sandstorm regions,” he said.
The three 132-kilovolt substations cost $35 million and were built in two years.
A GIS uses dielectric gas and sulfur hexaflouride at moderate pressure for insulation. It is mostly used where space is expensive or not available.
Dashtbozorg said the facilities were purchased from ABB, a Swedish-Swiss multinational corporation headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, in 2017.
“The power grid in the region will be equipped with nine more GIS systems that are expected to cost $105 million,” he said.
"Repairing and rebuilding infrastructure, namely substations and power transmission equipment, battered by dust storms, is expensive.”
Dust storms are a permanent feature of the southern regions, knocking out electricity grids in several cities of Khuzestan.
Dashtbozorg noted that in 2015, the sandstorm was so strong that the entire power network was hit and oil output decreased by 700,000 barrels for some days.
The province accounts for 70% of the country's crude oil production.
According to Houshang Falahatian, a former deputy energy minister, the ministry allocated 1 trillion rials ($200 million) to restore power in Khuzestan in 2017.
Residents also suffer intermittent water supply cuts due to the power failures.
According to experts, most of the sources of dust storms, which have worsened in recent years, are in neighboring Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Syria.
