Davood Manzoor, former head of the Planning and Budget Organization, analyzed the current situation and proposed solutions regarding the challenges of energy imbalance and the necessity of managing it. He emphasized that energy, as one of the main infrastructures for the country's development, plays an important role in ensuring the welfare of the people and economic sustainability.
Challenges of Electricity and Gas Supply
Manzoor stated that a deficit in energy resources can have negative impacts on the entire economy and people's livelihoods. He said: "Given the created imbalance, on one hand, we must continuously increase energy production capacity in line with demand growth." According to him, it is necessary to create about 4,000 to 5,000 megawatts of new power generation capacity each year to prevent the accumulation of electricity shortages.
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Possibility of Winter Blackouts
Manzoor also referred to the challenge of gas supply for power plants and said: "There is serious concern about the gas needed for power plants, and the Ministry of Energy has announced that there may be blackouts in winter as well." He added that summer blackouts may extend into winter, which could put more pressure on people and the economy.
He emphasized the necessity of investing in the development of power generation capacity, noting that building power plants requires significant financing. Manzoor suggested that actions should be taken to convert existing gas power plants into combined cycle plants to increase their efficiency.
Investment and Development Priorities
Manzoor, pointing out that for every thousand megawatts of converting gas power plants to combined cycle, about 700 to 800 million dollars of investment is needed, emphasized that precise planning must be done to secure the gas required for power plants. He also referred to the necessity of improving the efficiency of power plants using new technologies and said that this action could help increase the effective power generation capacity of the country.
In conclusion, Manzoor emphasized that if the necessary investments in this area are not made in a timely manner, energy supply problems will increase in the future and lead to social dissatisfaction.
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