Electricity is irreplaceable, which explains why most countries build their power plants inside their own territories and generate electricity by importing gas, said Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh.
Asked whether electricity export is more economical than gas, Zanganeh said, "There is a big difference between them. 30% of the generated gas in the world are exported, whereas electricity export is much less than that, ISNA reported. Zanganeh noted that electricity generation, as it is linked with security issues, is so crucial that countries never depend on others in this regard.
"In case gas import is interrupted, they replace it with another fuel so as to not stop electricity production," he said.
Referring to Turkey as an example, Zanganeh said, "This country generates 5 kilowatts of electricity by importing each cubic meter of gas from Iran at a cost of 40 cents. If 10.5 cents are spent for each kilowatt and we export electricity for 7 cents, naturally they will not purchase our gas."
According to the oil minister, Iran has a high potential for exporting electricity.
"We are willing to supply the private sector with gas to generate electricity and share the profit of exporting electricity with them," he said.
