TEHRAN – Chairman of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA)’s Energy Committee said the government should benefit from the capacities and potentials of the private sector in exporting electricity to the neighboring countries.

According to Hamidreza Salehi, Iran is currently exporting 1500 megawatts (mw) of electricity to Iraq and the figure is bound to fall in the future considering Iraq’s plans for renovating its infrastructure.

“So now, the government should use the capacities of the private sector in electricity generation, exports and investment in both Iraq and Afghanistan,” Salehi stressed.

The official mentioned Iranian Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian’s remarks about the country’s plans for boosting electricity exports to Afghanistan under the framework of the two sides’ energy agreements, saying the government should not ignore the important role of the private sector in its future plans.

“Currently, the private sector is active in all the fields of electricity industry from generation to distribution and this capacity can also be used in exporting electricity to the neighboring countries, he said.

Given the private sector's current capacity of generating 82,000 MW of electricity, it is obvious that it has the power to contribute to the country’s electricity exports to regional countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

According to the official, several trade delegations have been exchanged between Iran and its neighbors and the Iranian private sector have held several meetings with their foreign counterparts and are able to also cooperate in other areas like engineering and knowledge transfer.

As the biggest exporter and importer of electricity in the Middle East, Iran plays a central role in power supply in the region.

It exports electricity to Pakistan, Turkey, Iraq and Afghanistan, and also under swap deals, Iran exports electricity to Armenia and Azerbaijan in winter and imports in summer.

EF/MA