Iran plans to cede shares of 22 power plants to private sector

TEHRAN,July 11(MNA) - Iran plans to privatize 22 power plants in the current Iranian calendar year, which began on March 21, the Fars News Agency quoted power sector privatization project manager Bahman Allahmoradi as saying. To date, 22 power plants with the total generation capacity of 19500 megawatts have been privatized, he said, adding that shares of 22 other power plants, valued at 180 trillion rials, are planned to be transferred to the private sector. In May, Deputy Energy Minister Mohammad Behzad said that Iran plans to privatize 28 power plants by the end of the current calendar year (March 20, 2014). In the previous Iranian calendar year which ended March 20 eight power plants were privatized, the ISNA News Agency quoted Behzad as saying. Currently the private sector produces 40 per cent of the country's total electricity output Behzad said, adding that the amount would reach 60 per cent by the end of the current year. Iranian Energy Minister Majid Namjou said last November that according to the Constitution, the generation and distribution sectors of the power industry should be privatized and the transmission sector should remain state-owned. The power generation capacity in Iran has grown by seven per cent annually during the past 10 years. The figure has averaged 3.5 per cent in the world. Iran currently trades power with Turkey, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq. In an effort to diversify its destination markets, Iran plans to export electricity to Europe and Africa. Tehran seeks to become a major regional exporter of electricity and has attracted more than $1.1 billion in investments for the construction of three new power plants. Based on the Fifth Five-Year Economic Development Plan, Iran should annually add 5000 MW to its power generation capacity. Iran plans to boost its electricity generation capacity to reach 73GW by the end of the Fifth Five-Year Economic Development Plan (March 2016).