TEHRAN – Iran will add over 4,000 megawatts of new thermal power capacity to its electricity grid this summer through the construction of new units, upgrades to gas turbines, and removal of production bottlenecks in existing steam power plants, a senior energy official said.

According to Nasser Eskandari, Deputy for Power Generation Operations at Iran’s Thermal Power Plants Holding Company (TPPH), the country has already added 4,300 MW of new capacity over the past two years. Speaking on national television, Eskandari noted that despite achieving a 4,000-MW increase in available power compared to last year, energy consumption has risen by 13 percent in the same period.

Eskandari said a sharp decline in hydropower output has added further pressure on thermal plants. While hydropower traditionally provides about 7,000 MW during this period, current output has dropped to just 2,000 MW, forcing thermal plants to compensate for the shortfall.

He attributed the surge in electricity demand to a 5.5°C rise in average temperatures compared to last year. “Each one-degree increase in temperature adds roughly 1,500 MW to the national power demand. We’ve seen an overall increase of 7,000 to 8,000 MW this way,” he said.

Eskandari reported that thermal power plant efficiency has reached 39.68 percent, placing Iran 15th globally—ranking ahead of countries like China and Canada. This achievement stems partly from converting simple-cycle gas turbines to combined-cycle systems by adding steam units that raise efficiency without increasing fuel consumption.

He said Iran currently has 8,200 MW of potential capacity available for steam cycle expansion, and implementation of these projects is progressing well.

Eskandari confirmed that over 97 percent of the planned 102,000 MW maintenance work has been completed, and this figure will surpass 99 percent by the end of May. “We are entering the summer with high operational readiness to ensure stable power supply to consumers,” he added.

Other key priorities include building high-efficiency power plants, cutting internal power consumption, and reducing transmission losses—efforts that are expected to further elevate Iran’s global efficiency ranking in the thermal power sector.

EF/