Over 1 million smart meters have been installed across Iran for high-consuming subscribers and the installation program is progressing, a spokesperson for Power Generation, Distribution and Transmission Company (Tavanir) said.
“The scheme is part of a plan to install 4.5 million smart meters with priority accorded to high-consuming subscribers,” Mostafa Rajabi-Mashhadi was also quoted as saying by ILNA.
Of the total number [1 million], around 700,000 were installed in the agro and industrial sectors. Households and commercial centers accounted for the rest [300,000], he added.
The farming sector with about 700,000 electricity meters consume about 50% of Iran’s power generation at about 60,000 megawatts per day.
“The total number of consumers in the household sector is estimated to be around 30.4 million, of which 650,000 are heavy consumers whose meters will be converted to smart ones before summer so that they can be charged more than subscribers who use within [permissible] limits,” he said.
According to Tavanir, 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 is currently 38.5 million,” he added.
Statistics by Tavanir show that household subscribers witnessed the biggest increase (475,000 new meters) and reached 30.4 million, up 7% compared to 2021 when the figure stood at 30.2 million.
There were about 680,000 electricity meters in the agro sector last year, which has now risen by 3%, meaning 20,000 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
Industrial consumers have increased from 1.7 million to 1.9 million.
To curtail electricity consumption and ease power demand, subscribers are charged as per the new scheme started four months ago.
“As per the new scheme, those who consume up to 300 kWh per month are charged as much as before. Nonetheless, if consumption stands between 300 kWh and 450 kWh, subscribers are charged 6,000 rials [3 cents] per kWh. Subscribers whose consumption level stands between 450 kWh and 600 kWh are levied at a rate of 5 cents per kWh. If consumption exceeds 600 kWh, consumers need to pay 7 cents per kWh,” the minister said.
All industrial units that consume more than 2 megawatts of electricity per month have been charged 2.5 cents per kilowatt hour since March 2022.
As per the new bill passed by the Majlis, electricity tariffs for energy-intensive industries, namely cement factories, oil refineries and petrochemical and steel companies, increased fivefold as of March.
Industries account for 40% of Iran’s annual power consumption of 280 billion kilowatts-hour.
Direct Link
According to Energy Minister Ali Akbar Mehrabian, there is a direct link between economic growth and power consumption and as long as the latter is not used efficiently, the former cannot expand.
“Power supply restrictions on industries, including steel and cement factories, will regrettably result in unemployment and reduce exports,” he said.
“Iran has access to huge hydrocarbon resources and the best strategy to take advantage of them is to convert fossil fuel energy to electricity to not only meet domestic needs but also generate revenue via export.”
The minister noted that as an important production factor, electricity should help manufacture value-added goods, which would create jobs in other sectors.
Referring to the power deficit in summer, the energy minister said the shortage is projected to be around 10 GW.
Electricity demand will peak at 70 gigawatts in June, while all power stations in Iran cannot generate more than 60 GW.
Mehrabian noted that the power sector has experienced a substantial growth over the last four decades.
“Our installed capacity was 10 GW in 1980 and has now reached 60 GW. However, consumption patterns should be modified, or power outages will keep taking heavy tolls on industries,” he said.
“The installed power capacity of 60 GW is not enough to meet current demand and lack of investment is causing distress, as the key sector is already facing shortages.”
Power consumption in Iran grows by 5-6% per year, but expansion plans have been undermined by financial constraints, management issues and the dominance of energy subsidies.
