In line with the Iranian Energy Ministry's plan, South Korea's electricity giant Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) and Iran Power Generation, Distribution and Transmission Company (Tavanir) can cooperate to reduce electricity wastage in Iran, managing director of Iran Power Generation, Distribution and Transmission Company said on Tuesday.
After holding talks with KEPCO's CEO Cho Hwan-eik, Arash Kordi expressed hope that the two sides will conclude power agreements in the near future, Shana reported.
"As per Iran's laws and regulations, the Energy Ministry endorses foreign investors' plans aimed at reducing electricity wastage in the country. Interestingly, even the interest rates for such investments have been mentioned in the law," he said.
Pointing to the considerable achievement in reducing power wastage in Iran's national grid from 15.5% to 11% in less than a year, Kordi said there is still a long way to go to reach the optimum wastage rate of 8%, which explains why collaboration with international companies to make the power grid smart tops Tavanir's agenda. According to the official, Iran has a developed power network, for which its rate of wastage exceeds that of global average notwithstanding desperate efforts made to curb it.
"More than 20% of electricity go to waste in the national grid because of dilapidated equipment. Infrastructure of the national electricity grid is of low quality. Upgrading the equipment requires funds, but financial resources are limited," he said.
"Special measures should be taken and substantial investment needs to be attracted to accomplish the goal.
Kordi called for defining a clear roadmap for mutual electricity cooperation with KEPCO to further reduce power wastage with the help of the South Korean enterprise that enjoys state-of-the-art knowhow in this regard.
Underscoring the fact that thermal power plants' efficiency in Iran stands at a maximum 33% compared to that of the global average of 60%, the official said KEPCO can also help Tavanir increase the efficiency of power plants.
"We are willing to cooperate with Iran in implementing power projects such as building smart power grids and increasing power plants' efficiency," the KEPCO CEO said.
Underscoring KEPCO's progress in curbing power wastage, Cho said South Korea has managed to decrease its wastage rate to as low as 3%, which is definitely the least wastage in the world.
Cho believes that the two companies can embark on renovating and increasing power plants' efficiencies, and the two countries' experts can cooperate in renovating other states' power plants. "Given the sharp rise in electricity consumption, Iran is predicted to not meet the power generation target in the near future mainly due to technical shortcomings," Kordi said.
The Energy Ministry has already announced that domestic electricity consumption in summer during the current Iranian year (ending March 19, 2016) had a 2.7% jump compared with the same period of last year.
"According to estimates, electricity consumption is predicted to witness a 7% rise in 2017," he said, adding that electricity consumption reached a record high of 47,344 MW in summer.
Energy consumption in Iran is worrying and if the current trend continues, the total amount of energy generated in the country will have to be used domestically by 2025.
KEPCO is the largest electric company in South Korea, responsible for the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity and the development of power projects, including those related to nuclear, wind power and coal. The 51% state-owned company, which is headquartered in South Korea's capital Seoul, has an installed capacity of around 67,000 MW and supplies 93% of the country's electricity generation from 503 generation units, including nuclear, oil, coal, liquefied natural gas, hydro, wind and solar sources.
Iran is currently South Korea’s third biggest export partner in the Middle East with over 20 companies operating in the country.
