TEHRAN - CEO of Iran’s state electricity company Tavanir Arash Kordi says the country will boost its electricity exports capacity by seven times within the next four years to remain a dominant power supplier in the region.
Kordi said that Iran’s electricity exports are expected to reach 10 gigawatts (GW) by 2026, up from a current capacity of 1.5 GW.
Kordi said Iran’s plans for raising electricity exports capacity had stumbled in recent years because of an unexpected growth in domestic demand.
However, he said Tavanir has robust plans to meet the 10 GW target in exports as he insisted that import of electricity from to Iranian will remain the most preferable option for countries of the region at least for the near term.
“This (target) will definitely be realized and we will execute this projects based on the grid demand in neighboring countries,” the official was quoted as saying by ILNA news agency.
Iran is a major supplier of electricity to Iraq and Afghanistan while it exchanges electricity with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkmenistan during peak demand days.
Energy Ministry authorities say electricity exports to Arab countries of the Persian Gulf and others in the Middle East region will become possible if Iranian and Russian power grids are synchronized.
Kordi said Iran was working to boost its electricity exchange networks with Azerbaijan and Georgia to prepare for final synchronization with Russia’s power grid.
The Iranian government has introduced major projects to expand the electricity sector in the country, including the launch of 10 GW of renewable power plants by 2025.
That comes as recent estimates by Tavanir shows that domestic demand for electricity in Iran will reach 72 GW over peak hours next summer.