Hasan Ali Taghizadeh, Chairman of the Board of the Electricity Industry Syndicate, in his recent statements emphasized the necessity of reforming the structure of the electricity economy and said that if these reforms are realized, it can be hoped that part of the country's electricity imbalance will be resolved in the next four to five years.
Consumption Management and Alternative Fuel Supply
Taghizadeh, referring to the reduction in gas production due to the damages from the imposed war and the dependence of over 90% of the country's electricity production on thermal power plants, emphasized the importance of consumption management and alternative fuel supply. He added that power plants equipped with dual-fuel systems can use diesel as an alternative fuel, and liquid fuel reserves for these plants are projected to last for about 20 days on average.
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40% Increase in Electricity Allocated to Industries
This summer, the amount of electricity allocated to industrial subscribers has increased by about 40% compared to last year. Taghizadeh stated that the Ministry of Energy's approach in winter will also focus on maintaining the stability of electricity supply for household subscribers and allocating the maximum possible electricity to the industrial sector. He also referred to the damages inflicted on the electricity industry's infrastructure during the 40-day war, stating that about 4,200 megawatts of the country's power generation capacity has been damaged.
Taghizadeh emphasized that the power plant construction industry in the country has become indigenous, and the equipment needed for building gas and combined cycle power plants is produced domestically. He also mentioned the time required to build power plants, stating that constructing a gas power plant with two 183-megawatt units takes about 14 to 20 months.
Necessity of Economic Structure Reform
Taghizadeh stated that the electricity imbalance is not due to a lack of technical knowledge or production capacity of equipment, adding that the root cause of the imbalance should be sought in the electricity economy and the reduction of investment incentives. He warned that to maintain the stability of electricity supply, the country needs to add about five percent to its production capacity annually.
He also pointed to the investment problems in building power plants, saying: "The failure to increase electricity prices in line with inflation and currency rates has reduced the economic attractiveness of investment in this sector." Taghizadeh emphasized that without reforming the economic structure and providing returns commensurate with investment costs, sustainable development of power generation capacity will not be possible.
Taghizadeh concluded by stating that with the reform of the supply and demand mechanism and accelerating the government's exit from electricity trade, it can be hoped that a significant portion of the country's electricity imbalance will be resolved.
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