An estimated 280 billion kilowatt-hours of power were produced during March-December 2021, up 5% or 14 billion kWh compared to the same period of a year ago.
According to data released by the Energy Ministry and the state-run Tavanir (Iran Power Generation, Distribution and Transmission Company), of the total, 90% or 250 billion kWh were produced by thermal (steam, gas and combined-cycle) power stations, IRNA reported.
Tavanir’s output is projected to reach 310 billion kWh by the end of the current Iranian year (March 2022). It said close to 5 billion kWh were exported to neighboring states, namely Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan, in the 275-day period.
Under swap deals, Iran also exports electricity to neighboring Armenia and Azerbaijan in winter and imports when domestic demand soars in summer.
The agreements are in line with policies to increase power grid sustainability via joint ventures and synchronize the network with neighbors.
Close to 308 billion kWh of electricity were produced in 2019, up 6.1% compared to the previous year.
Based on data from the Statistical Center of Iran, 3 billion kilowatt-hours were exported to Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan in 2019, up 5% compared to 2018.
Tavanir said installed power capacity rose by at least 2,000 megawatts last year to reach 60,000 MW.
Company data indicate that five new gas-powered thermal stations and combined-cycled plants in Kermanshah, Tehran, North Khorasan, Bushehr and Mazandaran provinces added 685 MW and 990 MW, respectively, to national production.
Moreover, companies with distributed generation systems, renewables and hydropower plants added 270 MW, 53 MW and 2 MW to Tavanir’s power output, respectively.
Electricity Meters
According to Mostafa Rajabi-Mashhadi, the spokesperson of Tavanir, the number of electricity meters nationwide has soared by 700,000 over the past eight months to surpass 38 million.
"The total number of consumers in four sectors [households, industries, agriculture and commerce] was 37,600 million in 2020, which has now experienced a 2% rise to reach 38,300 million."
Giving a breakdown, the spokesman said household subscribers registered the biggest increase (475,000 new meters) and reached 30.4 million, up 7% compared to 2020 when the figure stood at 30.2 million.
There were about 480,000 electricity meters in the agro sector last year, which has now risen by 3%, meaning 14,000 new subscribers have been added to the key sector.
The number of consumers in the commercial sector has experienced a rise of 4%. In other words, 202,000 new users have been added, increasing the number of subscribers in the commercial sector to 5.1 million.
Industrial consumers have increased from 1.7 million to 1.9 million.
“The newly-added subscribers will add 2,000 kilowatts to the national grid load,” he added.
According to Rajabi-Mashhadi, the number of electricity meters nationwide in household, agricultural and industrial sectors has grown 12-fold in four decades.
“There were three million electricity consumers in 1980, which figure is currently 38 million,” he added.
Output and Demand
The official noted that national electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure is expanding, as output and demand have reached 60 gigawatts and 57 GW, respectively.
Referring to data released by Tavanir, Rajabi-Mashhadi said transmission lines that supply from the main power stations to substations in and around cities now stretch over 815,000 kilometers, of which 15,000 km were laid last year.
Distribution lines, which carry electricity from substations to homes, industries and other end-users, increased by 1,000 kilometers in 2019 to reach 130,000 km.
“The installed capacity of substations, including transmission and distribution, has reached 122,000 megavolt ampere (MVA), up 16% compared to 2016 when it was 105,000 MVA,” he added.
According to the spokesman, the transmission capacity of step-up and step-down substations increased by 8,000 MVA last year, whereas distribution increased by 7,000 MVA.
Energy Ministry data show that $120 million have been invested to expand rural power infrastructure since 2013, largely for erecting towers, building substations for transmission and distribution, expanding high voltage transmission lines and installing aerial transmission cables.
