Welcome to another episode of the series, the Iranian Market. In this episode we’re going to discuss Iran’s electricity industry.

One the most important issues of the current world is energy. Energy plays a key role in the course of achieving a stable development as well as in the improvement of the quality of people’s life in different societies.

Providing energy is very necessary for global growth and development. Among the issues being discussed in this field, there are several subjects including safety of energy, the use of clean energy and its role in reducing greenhouse gases, the potentiality of using energy for the public as well as its capability to be renewed.

Electricity is among the clean energies that can fulfill the needs of industrial and manufacturing units of nations.

According to figures and statistics, about 21000 billion kilowatt- hour electric energy is produced across the world nearly 92% of which is consumed.

The methods of producing electricity are varied. Currently, from the total production of electricity in the world, approximately 40% is made from coal resources, 23% from natural gas resources, 21% from renewable resources, 12% from nuclear resources, and 4% from oil and its products.

It is said that one billion people around the world are still deprived of electricity, yet this industry has a remarkable presence in the life of people in most countries.

From the farmer who uses an electric water pump for irrigation to the researcher who is engaged in the final stages of his thesis, all sense the importance of electricity in their job.

Even with the bold presence of computers in our daily life, the role of electricity has been felt more.

The importance of electricity becomes manifest for all when it is cut just for some seconds! It’s after power outages that the health and safety of people might be at stake and major harms may be inflicted to people’s life. Power outage is felt more than any other problem and is dangerous more than any other shortages.

Electricity network maybe the biggest hardware system in the world that is expanding day by day because of its flexibility and being clean.

Electricity produces less pollution when it is being consumed. Furthermore, what is interesting is that this little pollution is even controllable.

Another feature of this power is that for producing light at homes, offices or factories it has no other substitute.

Because of the uses of electricity, no country can ignore this industry.

According to studies of research centers in the world, the growth of the capacity of producing electric energy would help development of other technologies in the second half of the 21st century. Therefore, the electricity industry has gained a strategic importance.

More than one hundred years have passed since the start of electricity industry in Iran. The Islamic Republic of Iran now ranks first in West Asia in terms of electricity generation.

Iran’s National Grid Dispatching is responsible for preserving the stability and security of Iran’s national grid, ensuring the continued supply of the required electricity for consumers and optimal operation of Iran’s power system based on electricity market regulations through planning, monitoring and managing the generation and transmission network.

‏The mission objectives, expectations on reliability level and performance quality of operational planning and control of the bulk power system, imply a multivalent organization with very diversified skills and expertise, complex nature of tasks and high level of expectations on safety, security and reliability as well as economy of operations.

According to the Iranian energy ministry, Iran's power plants generated over 271.91 TWh (terawatt hours) of electricity since the beginning of the Iranian fiscal year‎ (March 21, 2017) until January 26.

It also added that the output was almost 7% more compared to the same period of the preceding year.

The Islamic Republic of Iran is now one of the producers and exporters of equipment of electricity industry. The Islamic Republic is among the top ten producers of transformers in the world.

Iran also exports its technological equipment to the countries in the region, Africa and Europe.

AE/RM/SS