Ninety eight percent of major electricity equipment is manufactured by Iranian companies, director of distribution coordination at the Iran Power Generation Transmission & Distribution Management Company (Tavanir) said, IRNA reported.
"National power supply and volume of investment has increased in line with rising consumption," Gholamreza Khosh-Kholgh said, indicating electricity generation capacity which was around 7,000 megawatts (MW) in the early 1980's is now at 72,000 MW.
Electricity is today supplied to nearly every remote village and small town across the country, he said, with Tavanir intending to supply 220 billion kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity, he added.
According to the official, Tavanir has a $5.9 billion debt, part of which is due to distribution tariffs remaining stagnant for almost a decade, while the cost of equipment has risen. He added that the electricity infrastructure doubles every ten years.
Iran’s power industry ranks 14th in the world and first in the Middle East in terms of electricity generation with an installed power generation capacity of 67,806 MW.
The country is the largest exporter and importer of electricity in the Middle East and exports electric power to Armenia, Pakistan, Turkey, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Azerbaijan and Armenia supply electricity to Iran under a swap agreement.