Iran inks with neighbors to export electricity

Iran's Deputy Energy Minister for Electricity and Energy Affairs Mohammad Behzad said Iran is expected to export about10 billion kilowatt hours of electricity in the current Iranian year. He also said Iran has signed several contracts with its neighboring countries in this regard, which will help boost its electricity exports. Behzad also said that Iran's electricity exports have soared by 40 percent since the beginning of the current Iranian year, compared to the same period last year. Iran exported some 8.6 billion kilowatt hours of electricity during the last Iranian year, which indicates a 29-percent increase in comparison with the corresponding period of the preceding year, he added. The Iranian official went on to say that the country's electricity generation will reach 73,000 megawatts by the end of the current Iranian year. He put the current installed electricity generation capacity of Iran at 65,000 megawatts. A senior Iranian energy ministry official had earlier announced that the country has set a record in exporting electricity to the neighboring states in the last Iranian year. Iran's Energy Ministry official in charge of foreign exchanges Abdolhamid Farzam said in April that the country hit a new record last year by exporting more than 8.6 billion kilowatt hours of electricity to neighboring countries. Last year, he said, Iran's total electricity exports increased by about 30 percent compared to one year before.