A new 400-kilovolt gas-powered substation is expected to become operational in Ahvaz soon, Khuzestan Steel Company's deputy for planning said.
“The facility will help provide the much-needed electricity for the largest steel mills in the region, namely Khuzestan Steel Company and Khuzestan Oxin Steel Company,” Meysam Shahniani was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
Built by the steel giants at an estimated cost of $75 million, the substation will be linked to the national grid as soon as trials are carried out successfully, he added.
Shahniani noted that the project entailed a transmission line plus installation of four 315-megavolt transformers that will help reduce the power load in Ahvaz during peak power demand.
A 400-kV power transmission line has already been completed in the region and as soon as the substation comes on stream, the 400-kV electricity that comes from Ahvaz power plant will be converted to 132-Kv before its distribution in the steel factories.
A substation reduces the high voltage of power transmission to suitable voltage for supply to consumers.
Close to 70% of the venture was funded by Khuzestan Steel Company and the rest was financed by Khuzestan Oxin Steel Company.
Located in the southern province of Khuzestan, Oxin Steel is Iran’s biggest producer of heavy plates and has a capacity of 1 million tons per year. It also has a direct-reduction iron plant and a slab mill, each with a capacity of 1 million tons per year.
There are 84 steel mills in Iran and its biggest steelmaker, Mobarakeh Steel Company, accounts for 18% of total production capacity with 7.2 million tons per year.
Khuzestan Steel Company comes next with 3.8 million tons, followed by Esfahan Steel Company with 3.6 million tons and South Kaveh Steel Company with 2.4 million tons.
Khuzestan is a major oil-producing region of Iran and one of the wealthiest provinces of Iran. It holds 80% of Iran's onshore oil reserves and 57% of Iran's total oil reserves, making it indispensable to the Iranian economy.
Voltage Fluctuations
According to Arash Korki, the head of Iran Power Generation, Distribution and Transmission Company, power projects worth $250 million are underway in the oil-rich region to prevent industrial townships and households from the adverse impact of voltage fluctuations.
“Peak power demand in Iran reached 69,500 megawatts in July, of which 12% were consumed in the southern Khuzestan Province,” he added, noting that this area will face a serious deficit in the coming years unless infrastructures are developed.
Daily power consumption in Khuzestan hovers around 4 gigawatts in winter, but as the weather gets warmer in summer and the temperature exceeds 50 degrees Celsius, consumption triples between June and August.
Referring to plans completed in the region over the last 12 months, Kordi said a 230/33-kilovolt power substation and a 132/33-kilovolt mobile substation were synchronized with the national power grid in June.
“Costing $30 million, the new installations will stabilize power supply in and around Ahvaz from the adverse impact of voltage fluctuations in the hot summer when electricity consumption peaks in the region. 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.
Transformers and substations at times break down in Ahvaz when temperature rises above 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.
