TEHRAN- The Deputy for Planning and Economic Affairs of TAVANIR Company (Iran's Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution Management Company) stated that despite the damages inflicted on a portion of the electricity industry's facilities during the recent imposed war, the generation capacity of small-scale power plants has increased from 1,430 MW at last year's peak load to over 1,692 MW this year.

According to IRNA reporting from the Ministry of Energy, Abolfazl Asadi said on Sunday: In the Seventh National Development Plan, the development of small-scale thermal power plants with a capacity of 200 MW had been anticipated, and now this has been achieved despite various obstacles and challenges, with small-scale power plant generation capacity reaching 1,692 MW.

Recalling that the program's target for this year was to achieve a capacity of 1,635 MW, he added: Through the efforts of regional electricity companies and electricity distribution companies across the country, this figure was achieved beyond the set target.

The TAVANIR Deputy cited maximum private sector participation, rapid and economical project implementation, helping to reduce imbalances, enhancing passive defense, reducing network losses, and increasing the resilience of the electricity industry as the most important advantages of developing small-scale power plants.

Asadi stated: In the past two years, effective measures have been taken to support investors in small-scale power plants, so that through expanding their investments and actively participating in the electricity market, they have played a significant role in increasing the country's electricity generation capacity.

Asadi noted: Based on the Seventh Development Plan, a comprehensive program has been formulated to resolve the country's electricity imbalance, in which increasing electricity generation and demand management are pursued simultaneously.

He identified the development of large thermal power plants, small-scale power plants, and renewable power plants including solar and wind plants as the main axis of this program for increasing production, and added: Specific targets have been set for each of these sectors to achieve increased electricity generation capacity.

Asadi identified demand management aimed at optimizing electricity consumption as TAVANIR's second pathway for reducing electricity imbalance.

Regarding attracting investment in the electricity industry, the TAVANIR Deputy said: In this regard, three trading boards have been designed and launched, including the Green Board for private sector investment in renewable electricity, the Free Exchange Board for small and large thermal power plants, and the Savings Board for investors in the field of energy consumption optimization.

Asadi continued: In the field of energy consumption optimization, investors can invest in industrial or residential sectors in projects such as replacing water cooler motors or replacing gas coolers.

He noted: Investors in renewable energy can produce and supply their electricity on the Green Board throughout the year without concern about fuel limitations; the Free Board is also intended for investors who wish to develop existing power plants or build new thermal power plants, whether gas, combined cycle, or steam.

The Deputy for Planning and Economic Affairs of TAVANIR also referred to the Savings Board and said: This board is dedicated to investment in energy consumption optimization projects, and over the past year and a half, the number of contracts in this field has increased from 2 contracts to 55 contracts.

Asadi noted: Today, numerous examples of optimization project implementations, including the replacement of water cooler motors, can be observed, and this trend indicates the growing welcome from investors to participate in this field.

The Deputy for Planning and Economic Affairs of TAVANIR identified the purpose of creating these three pathways in the investment sector as increasing the attractiveness of investment in the electricity industry, so that through this route both the reduction of imbalances and productivity in the electricity industry can be achieved.

Regarding complaints from some private sector investors about the electricity purchase price and delays in paying their receivables, the TAVANIR Deputy said: The first action emphasized in the Seventh Development Plan is the development of electricity transactions on the Energy Exchange Board, because in this market, electricity suppliers and buyers are directly present and transactions are conducted transparently.

Asadi, recalling that industries constitute the major buyers of electricity in the commodity exchange and mostly make their purchases in cash, added: This group, if needed, also has the possibility to purchase electricity from other market sectors.

The Deputy for Planning and Economic Affairs of TAVANIR stated that over the past two years, the share of electricity transactions on the exchange has continuously increased and this trend continues this year, and said: According to the Seventh Plan, 60 percent of electricity transactions must be conducted through the commodity exchange.

He emphasized: The Ministry of Energy's policy is that the government gradually withdraws from the direct transaction process, and electricity suppliers and buyers conduct their transactions in a transparent environment, so that a significant portion of problems related to pricing and payment of receivables will be resolved over time through this method.

Referring to the damages inflicted on the electricity industry during the recent imposed war, the TAVANIR Deputy said: Some of the country's power plants with an operational capacity of over 100 MW were damaged, and in total about 130 MW of nominal capacity was damaged in this war.

Asadi added: Simultaneously with actions taken to reconstruct these units, existing capacities in gas stations and small-scale power plants were also utilized, and numerous meetings were held with industry owners and investors in this field to use existing capacities to compensate for the production shortfall.

He noted: Despite the damage to 130 MW of nominal power plant capacity, by using other available capacities, we succeeded in bringing over 200 MW of new capacity online and fulfilling the assigned obligation for developing small-scale power plants.

The Deputy for Planning and Economic Affairs of TAVANIR, while appreciating the cooperation of various bodies, stated: The Ministry of Petroleum in fuel supply, the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade in foreign currency allocation, as well as investors in this field, have provided effective cooperation with the electricity industry, and this collaboration enabled the achievement of the anticipated targets in this sector.

MA