Gas supply to power plants since the beginning of the current Iranian year (March 21) has increased by 15% compared with the same period of last year, deputy oil minister for planning and supervision of hydrocarbon resources said.
“Thermal power plants have the largest share of electricity generation capacity in Iran and their fuel supply is necessary to go through summer without blackouts as the electricity consumption is on the rise in the domestic, commercial and industrial sectors,” Sajjad Khalili was also quoted as saying by ISNA.
“To achieve this, the Oil Ministry has taken serious steps regarding the supply of the fuel needed for thermal power plants,” he added.
“During the summer, due to the minimal consumption of gas in the domestic sector, electricity generation at the power plants will mainly use natural gas. Therefore, the average amount of gas delivered to power plants in the first quarter of this year has grown compared to last year,” he said.
Noting that liquid fuel storage has grown by about 100%, the official said in case of gas shortage in power stations, they will be provided with liquid fuel such as diesel and mazut to prevent outages despite the growth of electricity consumption.
Almost 85% of Iran’s electricity (90,000 megawatts) are produced by thermal power stations, most of which run on natural gas.
The National Iranian Gas Company produces upwards of 1 million cubic meters per day. Iran has abundant natural gas deposits and it is more cost-effective to use gas for power generation instead of liquid fuels.
Supplying gas to power plants, instead of liquefied fuels, has not only helped with the sustainable electricity supply but also curbed air pollution.
NIGC has substantially raised gas production, especially from the giant South Pars Gas Field in the Persian Gulf, to meet the growing needs of households, power plants and industries.
