Iran to open 6 GW of new power capacity by next summer

Iran’s energy minister said 6 gigawatts (GW) of new electricity capacity will be connected to the country’s power grid by next summer.

News ID: 5629

Date: 22 December 2024 - 09:27

TABNAK, Dec 22: Abbas Aliabadi said on Saturday that the new capacity will include 3 GW of renewable power plants.

Aliabadi said that Iran had inaugurated 3 GW of power plants in the past few months, without elaborating.

He said that the country also plans to change electricity meters for heavy consumers as part of plans to control the demand next summer.

Iran’s peak demand for electricity reached nearly 80 GW in the last summer, nearly 15% more than the summer of 2023.

Authorities said at the time that the consumption was equal to the usage in industrialized countries like Germany.

However, Aliabadi insisted that Iran’s current electricity issues, which have forced closures in the country in recent days, are related to inconsistencies in the supply of fuels to power plants.

Reports earlier this week suggested that some 17 power plants in Iran, out of a total of 143 in the country, had stopped generating electricity because they had been disconnected from the nationwide gas grid due to increased demand for heating in the country.

That came as fuel inventories at those power plants had also declined because of various reasons, including overconsumption in summer months.

Authorities have ordered a ramp-up in gasoil production in recent days to offset the shortage.