Iran plans to triple electricity exports over a course of three years, deputy energy minister announced Monday, Mehr news agency reported.
The projected increase in electricity exports has been adopted in line with the 'economy of resistance', Houshang Falahatian said, adding that a comprehensive plan has been outlined to this end.
According to the plan, electricity export will rise from the current eight billion kilowatt hours (kWh) to reach 25 billion kWh in three years. The plan also takes into account power transit economy as Iran aims to capitalize on power exchange in the region, with the priority having been given to the neighboring countries.
The 'economy of resistance' is a set of policies proposed by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei to counter the sanctions, promote domestic growth and reduce consumption. "Plans to increase power exports rely on increased participation of private sector," Falahatian added. The energy ministry plans to further develop the electricity industry by attracting private sector investment in new projects.
With an installed power generation capacity of 73,000 megawatts, Iran’s electricity industry ranks 14th in the world and first in the Middle East and North Africa in terms of electricity generation. The country is the largest exporter and importer of electricity in the Middle East and currently exports electric power to Armenia, Pakistan, Turkey, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Azerbaijan and Armenia supply electricity to Iran under a swap agreement.
Engineering Services
Value of exported technical and engineering services in the electricity and water sectors is estimated at $2.5 billion in the previous Iranian calendar year (ended March 20), head of the Water & Electricity Export Development Co. said.
Around 88 percent of the country's total export of engineering services in the last year pertains to water and electricity sector, Homayoun Haeri said, noting that engineering services are among Iran's main non-oil export. According to the Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) report, 52 and 35 percent of technical and engineering service exports in 2012 and 2013 belonged to the water and electricity sector.
Value of exported engineering services is $316.5 million in road development sector, $17.6 in construction sector, $7.2 million in telecommunication industry, and $5 million in oil, gas, and petrochemical sectors. Iranian firms have also undertaken 20 water and electricity projects in other countries in the past year.
