The Energy Ministry has no plans to increase electricity prices in the foreseeable future, deputy energy minister said, despite reports by government officials that power tariffs in Iran are approximately seven times lower than the global average.
"Any decision to hike power prices is up to the government," Houshang Falahatian was quoted as saying by ISNA.
Power consumption in Iran is three times higher than the global average, according to the Iran Energy Efficiency Organization.
More than 32 million subscribers in residential and industrial sectors consume an estimated 200,000 million kilowatt-hour energy per year, or nearly two-thirds of electricity produced in Iran. More than 2.9 million new subscribers have joined the national power grid in the past two years alone.
Earlier this year, Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian said Iranians have access to "the most inexpensive electricity in the world" at a rate of approximately 1.4 cent per kilowatt-hour.Falahatian also said plans call for boosting power production capacity via renewables by 1,000 megawatt annually by the end of the sixth five-year economic development plan (2016-21).
The government wants to increase wind power by 5,000 MW in five years.
"Iran is one of the leading countries in developing the 2.5-MW wind turbine technology and could become an exporter of wind turbine equipment in the near future," he said. Iran’s electricity industry ranks 14th in the world and first in the Middle East in terms of electricity generation with an installed power generation capacity of 74,000 MW.
