Iran's capacity to produce electricity and fulfill its energy export commitments to neighbors hit a record high over the past three months, according to Iran's Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian on Sunday.
In his speech, he said Iran reached about 2.3 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity exports in the period from May 22 to Aug. 11, the highest export volume over recent years.
'With the coming into service of 15 new power plants in 12 provinces of the country, we have been able to achieve a record of 3,250 megawatts of output growth in a year, which has been unprecedented in the recent years.'
Iran has become the top producer of electricity in the region by increasing its power generation capacity, he said, and added 'At present, we have energy exchanges with all the countries that share land borders with us.”
Iraq is the main recipient of Iranian electricity followed by Turkey, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
His announcement on increased electricity exports came just a day after Iranian officials said they had finalized an agreement with neighboring Afghanistan to both develop the power grid in the country and to continue exports.
The country has added 557 megawatts of capacity to its national grid since March 21, according to data released by companies active in the country’s power sector back in late June.
Iran’s nominal electricity generation capacity reached 80,311 megawatts at the end of last year and has now risen to 80,868 MW, the data showed.
By Busranur Begcecanli
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr