Mehr power transmission station in Markazi Province officially came on stream on Thursday.
"Mehr is one of the pivotal transmission stations to supply electricity to Khuzestan Province," said Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian on the sidelines of the station's inauguration ceremony, Tasnim news agency reported.
The new station will facilitate electricity transmission from the south to north. "We look forward to mobilizing transmission stations across the country to increase power supply to the north."
With a capacity of 230/400 kilovolt, the Mehr station has been established in an area of 32 hectares in the city of Shazand in Markazi Province with $37.5 million investment. The station is to be linked with Gotvand power plant in Khuzestan Province and Shahid Rajaee plant in Qazvin Province as well as power plants in Lorestan Province in western Iran in the near future.
It is one of several transmission stations to come into operation before the end of the present Iranian calendar year (March 2015). Firuzkuh power transmission station in northeast Tehran is also expected to come on stream by March 2015.
As one of the largest electricity projects in the capital with a capacity of 400 megavolt ampere (MVA), it will be linked to the Neka Power Plant in Mazandaran Province, Shohadaye Pakdasht Combined Cycle Plant and the Semnan Power Plant.
Construction at the Firuzkuh transmitter started in 2008 and was scheduled to be completed by 2011, but was delayed due to a shortage in funds. It was slated for an early November launch but was delayed again.
Iran’s electricity 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 is exchanging power with Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Turkey.
