Ten domestic companies have signed at least four contracts on the sidelines of the 22nd Iran International Electricity Exhibition that opened on Nov. 20 at Tehran’s International Fairground in the presence of Energy Minister Ali Akbar Mehrabian.
“Iran's Thermal Power Plants Holding Company, the engineering and energy giant, MAPNA Group, the Turbine Engineering and Manufacturing Company (TUGA), Shahid Rajaee Power Generation Company in Qazvin Province, Shazand Power Generation Company in Markazi Province, Ahar Power Station Services and Shahriar Turbine Components Company were among the firms that concluded the agreements,” Mehrabian was quoted as saying by IRNA.
Giving a breakdown, the minister noted that the first deal was signed between TPPHC and MAPNA, based on which the latter was assigned to carry out all operations and supply all equipment needed to convert gas-powered Shahid Salimi (Neka) Power station in Mazandaran Province to a combined-cycle facility. Neka power plant burns mazut all year round and its conversion to a combined-cycle unit can help reduce air pollution in the region.
The contract was signed between Abbas Aliabadi, MAPNA’s managing director, and Abdolrasoul Pishahang, TPPHC’s CEO.
TUGA, a subsidiary of MAPNA, was commissioned to build a 9F GE gas turbine rotor for Shahid Rajaee Power Plant in Qazvin.
A rotor is the core component of a gas turbine, and more than 80% of the failures in gas turbines occur in the rotor system, especially during the startup period. Therefore, the safety assessment of the rotor during the startup period is essential for the design of the gas turbine.
Steam Unit Control System
Referring to other deals, Mehrabian said as per an agreement signed between Ahar Power Station Services and Shazand Power Station in the central city of Arak, the former is tasked with building a steam unit control system in the thermal power plant.
The system controls the flow of fluid in the turbine to maintain the speed of shaft at all times, regulate a constant steam flow in turbines, retain constant steam pressure in all flows and check the produced force.
Furthermore, Shahriar Turbine Components Company will make a Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) machine for the first time in Iran.
HIP is a material processing method, which compresses materials by applying high temperature of several hundreds to 2000°C and isostatic pressure of several tens to 200MPa at the same time.
“Close to 90% of much-needed equipment and machinery of power plants in Iran are manufactured locally,” he said.
“Domestic manufacturers have become distinguished brands in terms of quality and quantity of products, and there is a demand for Iranian power equipment from neighbors.”
Mehrabian stressed that Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan are among top export targets for electricity equipment. He underlined the substantial cost of raw materials as a major obstacle for domestic manufacturers.
"Manufacturers buy petrochemicals, steel, zinc, copper and aluminum at hefty prices," he said.
Iran is supervising the overhaul and repair services of several power plants in Turkey and Iraq, despite other major international companies in the Middle East.
Major overhauls on Iraq's power plants and on two rotors belonging to refineries in Turkey will be conducted by Iranian experts. They will also supervise overhaul operations at a power plant in Turkey.
Despite the US sanctions imposed on the energy industry, the entire overhaul and repair operations are carried out by domestic experts, without any international help.
More than 120 frequently-used pieces of equipment and goods in the electricity sector have been produced and manufactured internally.
Steam turbine and gas turbine compressor blades are designed and manufactured in the country.
Transmission Lines
According to the Energy Ministry and based on data from the state-affiliated Power Generation, Distribution and Transmission Company's (Tavanir), distribution and transmission lines have been extended by at least 5,000 kilometers in the past eight months.
The length of distribution (133,000 km) and transmission lines (818,000 km) has reached 951,000 km nationwide.
The transmission lines now stretch over 818,000 kilometers, of which 15,000 km were laid on utility poles over the last two years.
Referring to data from Tavanir, Mehrabian said distribution lines have been extended by 1,000 kilometers to reach 133,000 km, noting that the length of the grid is in expansion mode and would reach 955,000 km by March 2023.
The installed capacity of substations, including transmission and distribution, has reached 136,500 megavolt ampere (MVA), up 29% compared to 2016 when it was 105,000 MVA.
According to Tavanir, the capacity of transmission substations, including both step-up and step-down stations, increased by 10,000 MVA over the last three years, whereas the figure for distribution substations is 9,000 MVA.
Iran’s installed power generation capacity has reached 90 gigawatts, of which 72,600 MW are produced in thermal power plants and the rest is generated by hydroelectric, renewable, nuclear and cogeneration units.
