Operations to build new combined-cycle power plants in southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan Province, with a collective capacity of 1,350 megawatts, are underway as part of efforts to minimize outages.
"The ventures include the four state-run Zahedan, Konarak, Bampur and Iranshahr plants, plus Chabahar's gas-fired plant, which are operated by the private sector," Hamidreza Azimi, Thermal Power Plants Holding Company's deputy for planning, was quoted as saying by ILNA on Monday.
According to Azimi, the projects will add 600 MW to Sistan-Baluchestan's power capacity upon their partial implementation by summer 2020.
"All the ventures, with a combined capacity of 1,350 MW, are slated to go on stream by 2021," he said.
The 414-MW Chabahar plant, which was expected to go on stream in May, came to a standstill due to financial disagreements between the private domestic contractor and its foreign investor. However, reports from last week revealed that the problem has been resolved and the project is now on track.
The gas-fired plant is the first power station in Iran to receive CNG for electricity production.
The power plant currently receives part of its feedstock from a 14-inch pipeline stretching over 20 kilometers from the port of Chabahar off the Sea of Oman.
According to Azimi, Iranshahr's steam unit with a capacity of 256 MW is near completion and will join the grid in the near future.
The plant consists of four 64-MW generators.
The other venture, Konarak Gas Power Plant, will add 150 MW to the national grid upon completion.
Azimi did not provide details on the plan's progress.
--- Zahedan Power Plant
Azimi referred to 540-MW combined cycle power plant in Zahedan, the provincial capital of Sistan-Baluchestan, as one of the major power ventures in the province.
"The plant, designed in two gas and steam phases, is slated to go on stream by summer 2021," he said.
It is estimated to cost €290 million ($327 million), of which 70% are financed by foreign investors.
According to the official, the Energy Ministry and TPPHC will oversee the project's development by privately-owned domestic contractor Ofogh Mehr Tous Company.
"The power plant will create more than 300 technical and engineering jobs," he said, stressing that upon its completion, the power station will need 4 million cubic meters of natural gas per day as feedstock.
Around 80% of thermal power plants in Iran reportedly burn natural gas for electricity generation.
Sistan-Baluchestan power plants have been supplied with gas since March 2017 when an extension of Iran Gas Trunkline 7 started to pump natural gas from Asalouyeh in Bushehr Province to Iranshahr in Sistan-Baluchestan Province.
The underdeveloped area is the only region in the country, which is largely cut off from the national gas grid.
Companies and utilities in the province, including large cement manufacturing plants and a major water desalination unit, have reportedly been hurt as a result of repeated delays in developing gas projects and the increase in fuel prices.
Besides constructing new power plants, the government is pushing measures to convert conventional plants into efficient combined-cycle units that use both gas and steam turbines to produce up to 50% more electricity.
Iran needs the new capacity to shore up domestic power supply and increase electricity exchange with neighbors as part of a scheme to establish a regional power network.
With installed power production capacity of around 80,000 MW, Iran is the biggest producer of electricity in the Middle East.
Iran wants to expand power generation capacity by 5,000 MW every year through 2022, the end of its Sixth Plan.