Installed capacity of power substations, including transmission and distribution, has reached 107,000 megavolt ampere (MVA).
According to Paven, the Energy Ministry's news portal, the national grid's high-voltage transmission lines, conductors designed to carry electricity or an electrical signal over large distances with minimum loss, have extended by 2,000 km in the past 12 months and now spreads over 126,000 km.
Length of the national power distribution network now surpasses 800,000 km, meaning that the grid has been extended more than 18,000 km in the last year alone.
Paven said the number of transformers has risen by 15,000 in the period, reaching 702,000. The transformers include distribution, step-up, step-down, medium and large gas-insulated equipment.
The rise in the number of transformers has increased their capacity from 119,000 MVA to 121,000 MVA.
Substation capacity has risen by 2,000 MVA during the year, indicating a 2% hike compared to last year. The capacity in 2016 was 105,000 MVA.
The website said installed power generation capacity now exceeds 82 gigawatts.
Iran plans to add 5,000 MW of power capacity annually through 2022, the final year of its Sixth Five-Year Economic Development Plan.
Higher electricity production is crucial to meet growing domestic demand and increase electricity export to neighbors as part of a plan to establish a regional power network.
Electricity demand reached an all-time high of 56,000 megawatts this summer. Over 60% of power in Iran is produced by private companies.
The ministry says power plant construction deals, signed between 2013 and 2018, should add 20,000 MW of new capacity to the national supply network.
