Thermal power plants accounted for almost 94% of total electricity production in the last 10 months, managing director of the Thermal Power Plants Holding Company said.
"There are 123 thermal plants in the country, of which 81 are owned by private companies in charge of generating 60% of the total output," Mohsen Tarztalab told Paven, the Energy Ministry's news portal, on Friday.
Giving a breakdown of power capacity at 81 gigawatts, Tarztalab said the thermal units, which are either steam, combined-cycle or gas-powered, make up about 64GW of the total.
"Steam, gas and combined-cycle units account for 16 GW, 25 GW and 23 GW of the thermal stations respectively."
The nationwide project to overhaul thermal power plants and raise output is on track and work-in-progress is at acceptable levels, he said.
"The government has earmarked $460 million for the project," Tarztalab said.
Domestic firms including Iran Power Plant Repair Company are carrying out the regular maintenance work at power stations that produce about 12,000 megawatts of power a year.
“Good progress has been made in the power sector and international companies' aversion to cooperating with TPPHC has now become irrelevant,” he noted.
Close to 10% of Iran's power plants, producing about 3 GW, are dilapidated, he said.
Efficiency of Iranian power plants is now close to 37.8%, and as per the Sixth Five-Year Economic Development Plan (March 2017-22) is expected to reach 40%
Replacing one old power plant with a modern unit demands $2 billion.
The Energy Ministry plans to boost power plants’ efficiency by phasing out old plants and building new ones in line with the Vision 2025 plan of action.
According to Paven, Iran's power plants' efficiency is now close to 37.8% and as per the Sixth Five-Year Economic Development Plan (March 2017-22) is expected to reach 40%.
However, as per the ministry regulations, all power units under construction across the country must have an efficiency rate of at least 58%, Tarztalab said.
Iran's power consumption on average rises by 8% and production capacity doubles every 10 years.
The country is the largest exporter and importer of electricity in the Middle East and exports electricity to Pakistan, Turkey, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Azerbaijan and Armenia supply electricity to Iran under a swap agreement.
