Iran’s thermal power plants generate over 140M MWh

(MENAFN) Since the start of the current Iranian calendar year on March 20, Iran’s thermal power plants have generated over 140 million megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity, according to Esmail Namazi, director of the Production and Technical Office at the Thermal Power Plants Holding (TPPH). Namazi reported that combined cycle power plants have been particularly significant, accounting for 58 percent of this total electricity generation. This represents a 2 percent increase in output from these units compared to the same period last year.

Namazi highlighted that thermal power plants have been crucial in meeting the country’s electricity needs, with gas units contributing 27 million MWh—a 1.5 percent increase from the previous year. Steam units also saw an increase, producing 32 million MWh. Iran currently operates 478 thermal power plants, including both gas and combined cycle plants, with over two-thirds of these facilities owned and operated by the private sector. Private owners are responsible for generating nearly 67 percent of the country’s thermal power.

Iran’s total power generation capacity is approximately 90,000 megawatts (MW), with more than 90 percent coming from thermal power plants. In May, the head of TPPH, Abdolrasoul Pishahang, noted that Iran ranks as the world’s ninth-largest producer of thermal electricity. Over the past two years, the capacity of Iran’s thermal power plants has increased by 9,000 MW, and these plants now account for 92 percent of the country’s total power production capacity. Last year, Iran’s power plants produced 389 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, with thermal power plants supplying 92.5 percent of this total.

Pishahang also stated that over 2,000 MW were added to the capacity of thermal power plants last year, and the readiness factor of these plants reached 98 percent during peak periods. The goal for the current year is to maintain high performance levels. Additionally, he emphasized that 50 percent of Iran’s power plants are domestically built, with 95 percent of the necessary equipment produced locally. By the end of the current Iranian calendar year in March 2025, Iran aims to achieve complete self-sufficiency in manufacturing F-class turbine blades.

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