Power Lines Expanding

The Energy Ministry has expanded high voltage power transmission lines by 3.3% over the past four years.

According to the ministry data, the total extent of 132 kV power lines has reached 23,353 kilometers from 22,602 kilometers in the fiscal 2012-13, Mehr News Agency reported on Tuesday.

That translates into 751 kilometers of new power lines across the country since Hassan Rouhani became president in mid-2013.

To put it in context, that is approximately the flight distance between Tehran and the southern city of Bushehr alongside the Persian Gulf.

In addition to setting up new transmission lines, Iran has put a great deal of effort to curb electricity wastage in the national power grid by rehabilitating dilapidated infrastructure, which is a major source of wastage.

Houshang Falahatian, a deputy energy minister, told IRNA last month that electricity wastage in the national grid has been reduced to 10.7% from 15.2% in less than three years.

“Plans are in place to cut wastage to less than 10% in the current fiscal year by March 2018,” he added.

Iran is the largest electricity producer in the Middle East with an installed capacity of close to 77,000 MW. Its electricity industry ranks 14th in the world in terms of output and first in the Middle East.

Nominal power generating capacity rose by 385 MW in the previous fiscal year that ended in March and reached 76,947 MW.

The country wants to expand power generation capacity by 5,000 MW every year through 2022, the end of its Sixth Five-Year Economic Development plan.