Close to 95 percent of Iran's electricity generating equipment are made by domestic manufacturers, Mohammad Farsi, chairman of the Iran Electrical Industry Syndicate (IEIS) said, Shana news agency reported.
Alireza Kolahi said, "Iranian manufacturers have managed to meet the country's major needs and demands in the electricity sector."
Domestic manufacturers have become "distinguished brands" in the region in terms of quality and quantity of products, and there is an increasing demand for Iranian power equipment from neighbors, according to Kolahi. He stressed that Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan are among top export targets for electricity equipment, according to Kolahi. He underlined substantial costs of raw materials as a major obstacle for domestic manufacturers.
"Manufacturers buy petrochemicals, steel, zinc, copper and aluminum for hefty prices."
Tavanir Repairing Power Plants in Turkey, Iraq
Iran is supervising the overhaul and repair services for a number of power plants in Turkey and Iraq, despite other major international companies in the Middle East, said an official at the Power Generation and Transmission Company (Tavanir).
Major overhauls on Iraq's power plants and on two rotors belonging to refineries in Turkey, will be conducted by Iranian experts. They will also supervise overhaul operations at a power plant in Turkey.
Despite the sanctions imposed on the energy industry, the entire overhaul and repair operations are carried out with the assistance of domestic experts, and without any international help, Fariborz Teimouri was quoted by Mehr news agency as saying.
Power plants producing a total of 25,000 megawatts (MW), nearly one third of the total power capacity, have so far been overhauled
More than 120 frequently-used pieces of equipment and goods in the electricity sector have been produced and manufactured internally, which has helped save 60 to 70 percent of hard-currency, the managing director of Iran Power Plant Repairs Company, a subsidiary of Tavanir, said.
Steam turbine blades, and gas turbine compressor blades were designed and manufactured for the first time in the country.
To prepare power plants for the coming year, overhauls will be carried out by yearend (March 21, 2015), Abdol-Rasoul Pishahang, a senior official in Tavanir said, adding that around $375 million is allocated for this purpose.
Earlier this month, a 162 MW power plant built by Iranian engineers was inaugurated in Iraq, near the southern city of Najaf, by means of which the electricity required for residential and commercial areas as well as the holy shrines in Najaf and Karbala is supplied.
Iran exports water and electricity equipment and services to 2o countries, according to energy minister Hamid Chitchian. Iran builds thermal, hydroelectric and renewables power plants in Iraq, Syria, Oman, Kenya, Sri Lanka and Armenia. It is currently among the top 7 power plant builders in the world.
