Iran has the capacity to generate $15 billion in revenues annually from the export of technical and engineering services in the electricity sector, secretary general of Iran’s Federation of Energy Export and Related Industries said, Fars news agency reported Friday.
“We can gradually replace oil export revenues with electricity,” Hamidreza Salehi said, adding that the country can become an electricity hub in the Middle East given its special position as a bridge between East and West.
He stressed that Iran can import inexpensive electricity from Turkmenistan and Armenia and export electricity with value added to European countries.
Electricity is an expensive commodity in neighboring countries such as Pakistan and UAE due to high demand, and Iran can generate “reasonable revenue” from electric exports to neighbors at the time of low demand, Hosseini noted.
Iran’s electricity industry ranks 14th in the world and first in the Middle East in terms of generation with an installed capacity of 72,000 MW. It 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.
